


An Unbroken Promise

by pencilxpaper



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Horde Adora (She-Ra), Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, so much fluff for a Horde fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:15:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29169432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pencilxpaper/pseuds/pencilxpaper
Summary: Adora has just been promoted to force captain.  Before her, there is only the future she was always told she wanted. With her best friend by her side, she wonders if her perfect future is all that it was promised to be.--A Horde Adora AU where Adora stays, and she and Catra have to figure themselves out while the war is going on around them.
Relationships: Adora & Scorpia (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 93
Kudos: 234





	1. Thaymor

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write something fun, and try my hand at a slow burn.

“I _want_ them to go with me,” Adora said in a voice that betrayed how terrified she was of using the word want. It felt weird in her mouth, like something hinged on that word, and she had no idea what.

Shadow Weaver sighed. “ _They_ are not ready.”

Adora stepped forward, putting a fist to her chest. “I’ll be responsible for them.” She paused, waiting for a response, but got none. “I’ve trained with them nearly my whole life. We know each other. I know how to communicate with them.”

Shadow Weaver turned to her sharply. “ _They_ will be a _distraction_ to you.”

Adora blinked at Shadow Weaver, her brain trying to process why her commanding officer emphasized those words. “No, they won’t. It’s just like any other drill. We work well together.”

Shadow Weaver clenched her fists and looked away. “Fine- If I must say it plainly- Catra will cause you problems. She’s jealous of your success- and most likely will sabotage the mission.”

Adora’s face set in determination. “You’re not giving her enough credit. She just wants to prove herself.”

Shadow Weaver sighed. “Fine. You take her, and we’ll see which one of us was right. You’re the one putting your reputation on the line.” She hesitated, then added, “The reputation you’ve spent your whole life developing- potentially squandering all that work and talent.”

All Adora heard was the approval. “Thanks!” She ran off with a smile.

Shadow Weaver sighed and watched her hopes and dreams run off. “Fuck,” she muttered to herself.

***

Adora was in full planning mode, with charts and maps. Her squad stood before her, ready to take orders. “Ok. Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio- you three will take the east.”

Lonnie cocked an eyebrow at Adora. “What about Catra? Isn’t she coming too?”

Adora was practically gleaming. “Yes. She is. She has a special assignment.”

Catra could not stop the slight rumble of a purr that started in her chest. No one commented. They had learned the hard way not to.

Lonnie folded her arms. “I’m _sure_ she does. Any chance we all get to know what that assignment is?”

Adora stood up and handed a stack of papers to Lonnie. “No. It’s a mission that’s on a need to know basis, and you do not need to know.” She smiled. “Good luck, guys. Have fun, and enjoy the opportunity for real combat.”

Lonnie sighed and pushed Kyle and Rogelio toward the exit. She glanced back over her shoulder to offer a quick, “Oh no, Adora, you enjoy yourselves- and try not to get distracted.” They left.

Adora tapped the floor with her toe, her smile gone. “What do you think she meant by that?”

Catra’s purr got stronger as she jumped on the table in front of Adora, her tail twitching with anticipation like she was about to pounce. “Forget her. What’s my special assignment?”

Adora let a lopsided smile cross her face as she pulled up a pair of keys. “You’re driving my tank.”

Catra’s eyes dilated, and she nearly fell off the table. “Oh- you know what I like.” She regained herself for a moment, looking Adora in the eye. “So, you got Shadow Weaver to approve this?” She took the keys from Adora.

Adora shrugged. “She approved your going- reluctantly- but not specifically this assignment. She doesn’t need to know. She’s left the planning of the whole mission to me, and I deem this important to the mission so-”

Catra shivered with excitement. “You know, for a goody-two-shoes, you’re kind of devious.” She leaned in, eyes half-lidded. “I guess I’m- rubbing off on you.”

Adora giggled and pushed Catra’s shoulder playfully. “You wish.” She grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair. “Now come on. I’ve got to show you the controls before we leave.” She darted for the door, and Catra lept of the table to follow.

Catra tossed the keys in her hand and looked up at the blonde rushing off down the corridors of the Fright Zone. She felt a warmth that was reserved only for when she was around Adora. It was addicting. She wanted to curl into it and stay there forever.

***

The tank controls were simple enough, and Catra was a quick study with Adora showing her the various buttons and levers. Once the mission got started, and Adora was sure that Catra had control of the machine, she sat back and focused on her communicator pad.

“What? You going to look at that thing through the whole battle?” Catra said as she navigated the machine forward past the trees of the Whispering Woods.

Adora shrugged. “Most of the work has already been done. I planned the supply routes. I ordered the ammunition and the extra armor for the soldiers. I’ve given everyone their orders and conditional orders if things go wrong.” She hit a few buttons on the screen and added, “I could be anywhere and watch the progress, make changes to the plan. The fact that I’m here in person is really just a courtesy to show everyone that I’m not a coward.”

Catra nudged Adora’s shoulder with a smile. “That’s up for debate.”

Adora shoved back with a smile. “Shut up and drive.”

The playful contact, and the feel of the machine under her fingertips, caused her chest to erupt in a rumbling purr.

Adora smiled big. “Oh, you’re enjoying this are you?”

“Now you shut up.”

“You had better not let that happen around other people, or they're going to think you like me.”

Catra stuck out her tongue, and Adora stuck hers out in response before they both erupted in laughter. The good time was cut off with a voice from the force captain badge Adora wore. She turned away and talked into it and hit a few buttons on her communicator pad. “Odd. This seems to be going easier than expected. You’d think, with Thaymor being in such a strategic spot between the Fright Zone and Bright Moon that they’d- I don't know- beef up security a little.” She tapped her finger on the communicator. “I may have overplanned this.”

“That wouldn’t be a surprise.”

She put the communicator down and looked out the window at what looked like civilians running away from them. “I think our intelligence must have been wrong. I haven’t seen a report of a single princess since we got here.”

Catra scoffed. “Eh, don’t worry about it. All Shadow Weaver cares about is success. All you have to do is win. It doesn’t matter how hard or easy it is.”

Adora forced a smile. “You’re right. Displacing a whole civilian population is nothing compared to the order we’ll bring to this place. It’s for the greater good.”

Catra stopped smiling at that. “You know, it’s one thing to say that stuff when Shadow Weaver or the others are around. You don’t have to pull that with me- not now when we’re finally alone.”

Adora’s eyebrows raised as she looked toward Catra. “What do you mean?”

Catra pulled a lever to increase the power as they slowly crushed a house. “The whole ‘greater good’ thing.”

Adora blinked.

Catra sighed. “You don’t have to pretend this is some kind of righteous war.”

Adora’s look turned to horror. “You don’t believe in the mission?”

“And you do?”

Adora stared straight forward at that. “Well- yeah. We’re supposed to, right?”

They both braced as the machine came down off the pile of rubble. Catra offered, “Supposed to in the same way the prisoners are supposed to get rehabilitated.”

Adora gasped. “Are you implying that they’re not being educated in how to be more orderly?”

“I mean, if you consider labor camps to be more orderly- then sure.”

Adora put her communicator down on her lap. “So- you think they’re lying to us?”

Catra let out a laugh. “Yeah- duh. Shadow Weaver’s been messing with our heads since we were kids. Lying and manipulation are her specialties.” Her laughter died, and her smile was gone. “Did you seriously not even think about this until now?”

Adora shifted uncomfortably in the tank chair. “I don't know.”

“Well, don’t think about it too much, or it’ll make you sad, and you know how I hate having to hold your hand when you get weepy.”

Adora pushed Catra playfully, a smile creeping back on her lips. “Oh, I’m sure you just _hate_ that.”

Catra giggled and focused back on driving the tank.

***

The celebrations died down late, and before Catra could catch up with Adora, Shadow Weaver had taken her by the shoulder and led her away. Catra knew where she was going. Adora had a fancy new Force Captain room that she’d be staying in from now on.

The full weight of that fact didn't hit Catra until the squad was back in their bunks with Adora’s bed empty for the first time in their lives. Catra laid still on the top bunk, but her tail was moving like it was an extension of her thoughts.

Lonnie groaned. “Stop thumbing your tail, or I swear I will cut it off.”

Catra grabbed her tail and held it but moved to stare down at Lonnie. “Brave of you to threaten me.”

“Adora’s not around to protect you anymore,” Lonnie said casually, shifting to turn her back to Catra. “You’d better watch your back.”

The threat should have been hollow, but the truth of it nipped at Catra’s sanity. The empty bunk below her was only furthering her slight panic. She had never relied on Adora to protect her. Adora did that out of her own dumb sense of superiority. Still, it heightened her absence.

She slid off the bunk in a practiced motion and whispered, “Fine. Don’t go ratting on me if we get inspected.” With that, she was out of the barracks and headed toward the Force Captain quarters hall.

“Where do you think you are going?”

Catra stopped in her tracks as she felt the first stings of Shadow Weaver’s black magic on the tips of her fingers, toes, and the tip of her tail. She didn’t even bother turning around. “Just going to pee. Is that a crime?”

Shadow Weaver moved to face Catra, her dark presence growing. “I assumed this would be too much of a temptation for you. Follow me, cadet.” She turned.

Catra felt the magic leave her, and she snarled as she followed.

“I am re-assigning you.”

“What!”

“Quite now. _Some_ people are trying to sleep.” Shadow Weaver stopped at her office door, opened it with a wave, and motioned for Catra to follow her in.

Inside, a huge woman with white hair and pincers for hands stood up and fumbled into an awkward salute and a stupidly naive smile.

Shadow Weaver, casually, gestured to her. “This is Force Captain Scorpia. You are being re-assigned to her squad.”

Catra’s mouth fell open, speechless.

Scorpia beamed and lurched forward to throw her arms around Catra, lifting her into the air. “Oh! Kitty!”

“Put me down!”

Scorpia put her down quickly but continued smiling. “Sorry. I get a little carried away.”

Shadow Weaver watched the exchange, breathed in, and added, “I do hope you find Scopria’s company to be- _satisfactory_.”

Catra pulled away from the large woman and glared at Shadow Weaver. “What was that?”

Scorpia interrupted. “Oh, we’ll have a great time. Tomorrow I’ll show you my little slice of the Horde. You’ll love it.”

Catra’s eyes went big, and her tail fluffed. She mentally forced it back.

“I do hope you focus on this new and exciting _friendship_ instead of dwelling on others.” Shadow Weaver’s voice was full of amused malice.

Catra could have maimed her right there and then. She wasn’t dumb. She could read between the lines. She looked at Scorpia for what she was, Shadow Weaver’s mock replacement of Adora, meant to placate her. Honestly, it wasn’t even that bad of an idea- if it had worked.

Shadow Weaver turned to Scorpia. “Why don’t you show Catra your room tonight? It will help you complete your mission.”

Catra hated every word, every syllable that woman uttered.

Scorpia picked up on none of it. She was blushing and smiling. “Oh, sure! Absolutely! I’ll do that now.”

 _I hate you_ , Catra mouthed to Shadow Weaver as Scorpia scooped her up and carried her out into the hall.

“You will really like my room. I mean, there’s almost nothing in it, but it’s nice.”

Catra was glad no one was around to see this. She didn’t need people thinking of her in terms of being carried. “What exactly is your mission?”

Scorpia’s smile disappeared for a moment, then was back. “That she needed someone to look out for you- save you from yourself.”

Catra rolled her eyes and started struggling against the hold. “Put me down! I can walk, you know.”

“Sorry! You’re just so small and pickupable!” Scorpia put her down and kept the march toward her room.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit odd to show me your room this late at night?” Catra felt sick to her stomach just thinking about it.

“Uh- I’m not tired so- now's as good as any time, right?”

Catra rubbed her head. This woman was a dumbass. Ah- that explains why Shadow Weaver picked her. Fuck. That woman knew her too well. 

Scorpia went on. “Besides, Shadow Weaver told me not to let you out of my sight.”

“For how long?”

Scorpia blinked. She tapped her pincer to her lip. “Let me see- I don’t remember. I’m not sure she said how long.”

“Why am I not surprised by that.” Catra followed her brain working for how best to get out of this. “So- where am I supposed to sleep?”

“Uh- I haven’t thought that far ahead on this. I kind of just was excited to have a mission.”

Catra almost felt bad for the woman. Almost. 

They reached the Force Captain Quarters, and Scorpia stopped at a door, opened it, and beamed as she stepped aside to let Catra in.

Catra, reluctantly, went inside. Her tail flicked back and forth as she realized, in an instant, she could smell Adora. She was close like she was almost in the room. She paused, realizing the scent was coming from the air duct. Her room must be near. Great. This was going to be torture. 

“Here’s my bed, and my bedside table- and here are my things.” Scorpia, awkwardly, pointed to all these things before she finally ran out. She blushed and scratched her neck with her pincer. “I guess it’s not much, but it’s mine.” she beamed back at Catra. “I’ll sleep on the floor, and you can sleep on the bed. I don’t mind.”

Catra took a long slow breath and turned to Scorpia. She did her best impression of the way Shadow Weaver talked when she was at peak manipulation tone. “Look, I’m not sleeping in your room. It’s- inappropriate. What would people think?”

Scorpia’s face went bright red, almost as dark as the color of her exoskeleton. “Oh gosh. I didn’t think of that.”

“We wouldn’t want the rumor mill to start churning about who’s sleeping in whose room, would we?” Catra’s read on Scorpia was dead on. The woman looked to be a complete mess at the idea.

“I- I guess that’s a good point.”

“So, thank you for showing me your room. If you’re my new Force Captain- I’ll see you tomorrow for orientation. How’s that?” She added a wink for good measure.

Scorpia, still a blushing mess, just nodded.

Catra went to the door. “Before I go-” She looked back. “There was a new force captain. I wanted to stop by her room and- congratulate her on her win at Thaymor.”

Scorpia had just then started gathering herself. “Oh, that’s nice of you.”

“Do you happen to know where her room is?”

“End of this hall on the left. The only empty room we had since- I forgot her name- since we lost the last force captain.”

Catra gave the woman her best smile. It was a charming smile. It did its job. The woman was helpless. “Thank you.” She ducked out and made sure the door was closed after her. She quickly went through the hall to the last door on her left. She extended her claws and tapped them on the door in a way that would let Adora know exactly who was on the other side.

A moment later, the door opened, and Adora met her with a smile but quickly checked both sides of the hall before grabbing Catra into the room. She gently closed the door behind them. “I knew you’d come!”

Catra couldn’t stop the smile on her face. “Of course, you dummy. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” She turned to look at the room and gave out an impressed whistle. “Look at these digs. Enough room to-” She tried to think of something Adora might want. “I don’t know- have a desk or something.”

Adora could barely contain her excitement. “I have my own bathroom! And shower! Come here.” She grabbed Catra’s hand and pulled her to the bathroom in the corner. She flipped on the light and watched Catra’s reaction.

Catra stared in wonder. “Wow. It’s got tile and a mirror. Your own sink. I guess you won’t be using the community showers anymore.” She touched it all, a slight pang creeping in her gut. She crushed it as she forced a smile and turned to Adora. 

Adora was giddy. “And the bed is huge!”

Catra got pulled back into the room, with Adora gesturing toward the bed excitedly, and it caused her to feel something- which was always suspicious. She couldn’t quite place the sensation, but it made her thinking slow. “A shame you’re only one person.” She nearly hit herself when she realized she said it out loud.

Adora’s smile was gone. “Yeah, it’s already been really lonely in here.” She did that thing when she got insecure where she rubbed her elbow. “I’m going to miss you guys-” She paused. “Well, I’m not going to miss Lonnie’s snoring- or Kyle’s night terrors- but you know what I mean.” With a look of resignation, she sat down on the bed.

Catra’s tail was going wild, and she reached back to grab it before Adora noticed. “Well, that’s the price of moving up I guess. I’m sure once of the other force captains would- I don’t know- hang out with your or something.” She sat down on the bed, not remotely touching Adora, but close enough that she could if she wanted to.

Adora shrugged. “I mean, a few have already offered- which is weird, right?”

Catra suppressed a growl. She repressed the urge to maim anyone who would go near her Adora. “You’re everyone’s favorite. You’re the brilliant tactician who won us a foothold in the whispering woods. I mean, who wouldn’t want to hang out with you?” She avoided Adora’s eyes as she said it.

Adora smiled at the obvious attempt to cheer her up. “You think you could- I don’t know- stay with me tonight?”

Catra looked back at Adora, eyes wide.

Adora didn’t look away. She had a hopeful expression on her face. “I’ll never sleep with it so quiet in here. Call it a favor to the Horde to make sure one of their force captains gets a good night's sleep.” And then she did it. She gave Catra that stupid soft smile that made Catra’s defenses just crumble. Not that she had any defenses against Adora.

Catra’s tail flicked next to the bed, ever so slightly touching Adora’s leg. Stupid tail. She hoped Adora didn’t notice. “Yeah, if you’re such a loser that you need it.”

“I’ll set the alarm to get you up before sunrise.”

Catra winced. She hated getting up early, but if that was the price to pay- then so be it. “Sure.”

Adora beamed, and then curfew hit. At the scheduled time, the lights went out, leaving only the faint glow in the room that the whole Firghtzone had. Adora’s eyes needed to adjust in the lowered light, but Catra’s didn’t.

Catra took the time to just look at her, letting herself think for a moment how amazing it was to be here with her. She saw Adora blink, and then smile, which meant she could see her staring now. Catra moved like liquid into a ball at the foot of Adora’s bed, as they had always done.

Adora found her eyes lingering on Catra’s curled up form. “You know- it’s going to get cold.” Her throat felt dry, just to say it. “And it’s not like anyone is going to see us, I mean you being vulnerable.”

Catra lifted her head at that, looking at Adora in the dark.

Adora forced a smile and pulled her blue blanket back. “It will be warmer up here with me.”

Catra swallowed and moved slowly just in case this offer was a trick. She got to the pillow and laid down, and slowly blinked at Adora.

Adora looked frozen at that but instinctively slow blinked back. She climbed in next to her, and pulled the blanket over them both while they faced each other. They were past the first hurdle of the night, and Adora smiled at herself for thinking of it. “This will be better- for both of us.”

“Right.”

Adora could hear the familiar rumbling of Catra’s purr. She could never admit to how happy it made her. “You’re a dork,” she said playfully, hitting Catra’s shoulder.

Catra smiled, feeling the rumble in her chest go up two notches. “Ah! You’re making it worse. Just shut up and go to sleep!”

Adora stuck her tongue out.

“You're a literal child.”

Adora could hear the smile in Catra’s voice and smiled to herself as she closed her eyes and snuggled into her pillow. She could never admit how much she liked the sound of Catra’s purr. This was the closest she had been to it while trying to sleep, and she was pleasantly surprised by how fast it lured her into sweet slumbering oblivion.

***

Adora woke up to the mechanical beeping of the horde standard-issue alarm clock and hit it without thinking. The reason she couldn't think about the alarm was because she woke up with Catra’s legs and hers tangled up under the sheets, and her brain could feel nothing else- think about nothing else. It took her a long, hard moment to realize she needed to wake Catra up. She shifted to turn to her and felt herself go a little breathless as she saw Catra, fast asleep, hair tousled around her face, breathing slowly and peacefully. Oh, she did not want to do this. If she were completely honest with herself, she’d rather stay there looking at Catra asleep forever. “Catra,” She said while moving her arm to shake Catra’s shoulder. “Time to get up and go.”

Catra moved, half-awake, in that semifluid way she always did when she was not fully conscious. Her legs entwined with Adora’s more, and her arms reached out to pull herself into Adora’s side, her claws extended slightly to latch onto Adora’s clothes, and just barely prick her skin, just like they used to when she was young.

For a moment, Adora relaxed into it before she remembered what would happen if Catra was late. “You don’t have long. Maybe ten minutes. You don't want Shadow Weaver walking in without you there.”

Catra’s eyes shot open, and her face went through a myriad of different reactions before landing on displeasure. “She can suck it.”

“Catra-”

“Fine! Fine-” With reluctance, she started to untangle herself.

Adora watched carefully to see if there would be any response in Catra to finding their legs so intertwined. They had always had moments of closeness when they could manage it, but nothing like this. She kind of expected a freakout. She watched Catra yawn, stretched, roll over, and she realized slowly, that everything was fine. Catra wasn’t going to act like that was weird, so neither was she. She couldn't explain how warm that made her feel. “I’m sorry you have to leave.”

“You would, dummy.” It was said with a slight smile as she climbed up and off the bed.

Adora rolled over to watch Catra do her typical morning stretch, standing up- putting her arms above her head, and arching her back, her tail flicking back and forth. It was majestic. 

Catra looked over her shoulder, eyes half-lidded, and winked. “Enjoying the view?”

“Shut up!” Adora grabbed the extra pillow and tossed it so it hit Catra square in the back.

Catra erupted in giggles at the reaction and went to the door. The moment her hand touched the handle, the giggling and the smile was gone.

Adora’s smile was also gone, as they both seemed to realize the moment that door opened, the regular world, its rules and problems, would come flooding in.

Catra looked up to Adora with a forced smile. “No worries. I’ll be fine. If I’m alive by curfew, I’ll see if I can’t come back and keep you company.”

Adora took in a breath and gave Catra a small hopeful smile.

That smile made Catra’s knees. She forced herself to go through the door, but not without checking the hall first. She had to move fast. Adora, and her stupid little morning leg tangles that Catra wanted to stay in forever, meant she was later than she intended. She had to book it- which meant running- and for her, it meant running on all fours.

She skidded into the locker room, just as Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio were finishing up standing at attention.

Lonnie glared at her as she quickly took her spot at the far end of the line. “Have fun at your sleepover?”

Catra just smiled and quipped back, “Jealous?”

Before Lonnie could react, Shadow Weaver came in for the morning inspection. 

***

Scorpia reported to Shadow Weaver’s office as soon as she was summoned, and again awkwardly saluted. “Here as requested your- second-in-command-ness.” She gave an awkward smile that completed the package.

Shadow Weaver focused her attention on the scorpion princess. “I want a report about your assignment with Catra.”

Scorpia stood straight. “Oh- right.”

“Did everything go as planned?”

Scorpia wasn’t sure exactly what the plan was. She just knew she had gotten really embarrassed as a girl she liked suggested people might talk if they slept in the same room together. Remembering that made her feel butterflies in her stomach. She blushed again, turning a dark red.

Shadow Weaver saw that reaction, and drew her own conclusions. She relaxed a little. “Good. Keep up the good work. _Distract_ her as much as you can.”

Scorpia was not following the conversation, but she knew better than to contradict Hordak’s second-in-command. “Yes sir- I mean ma’am!”


	2. Contraband

Catra arrived for orientation in the big open concrete space where they kept tanks and skiffs. The only instructions she had were to meet at the north end. She searched and saw Adora talking with a group of Force Captains. Catra slowed down, watching the interaction. Were they planning something? Adora didn’t look happy. 

She forced herself to move past it. Adora wasn’t her problem for today. Her problem was the big woman with the tail. 

“Over here!”

Catra stopped cold when she heard Scorpia call and looked up to see the woman waving her pincer. Scorpia was sitting on a flowery blanket set out on the tarmac in the open area between two tanks. She had a weaved basket and a pair of mugs.

Catra felt her whole soul leave her body. Someone, please just kill her right then and there.

“Catra! Over here!” Scorpia yelled louder, waving her pincer wider.

Catra rushed if only to make the woman stop drawing attention to herself. “What are you doing out here?”

“I made tea and brought snacks!” She grabbed the basket and held it out unopened.

Catra was about to protest when the smell of whatever was in the basket wafted out to her nose. Her mouth started to water, and she, reluctantly, sat down on the far end of the blanket with her tail tucked under her leg and her ears back.

Scorpia beamed. “I got contraband food for our orientation this morning.” She set the basket down, and opened the lid, and tried to pull something out, but the opening was too small for her pincers. She smiled apologetically. “Someone else packed it, so uh-” She held out the basket to Catra. “Can you?”

Catra rolled her eyes but took the basket and opened the lid. Inside, the most amazing smells came out. She reached in and found little off-white disks.

“They’re cookies,” Scorpia said with a look of anticipation.

Catra turned the cookie around in her fingers. “So- you just eat it?”

“Like a ration bar, yeah.”

Catra sniffed it, and her whole nervous system lit up. Her mouth started to water, and she bit into it almost on instinct. It was sweet and smooth. She stuffed the rest of it in her mouth then went for another.

“I could only get four,” Scorpia said with a faint smile.

Catra, out of respect for the peace offering, stopped herself from eating the second. “Can I- have one for a friend of mine?” She said, her voice almost cracking.

Scorpia’s face lit up. “Sure!”

Catra forced herself to think of how Adora would look eating this for the first time instead of thinking how good it would be to have another. She put it away in one of the many hidden pockets in her uniform.

Catra fished out the last two cookies to hand them to Scorpia.

Scorpia reached out to take the first one, which crumbled under her pincers. “Woopsie,” she said with a blush. “It’s hard to gauge how brittle things are.” 

Catra felt an odd pain in her heart at the loss of something so precious and a sense of sadness on Scorpia’s part for missing out on half of her own snack.

Scorpia readjusted and got the second cookie with a little more effort. “There we go.”

Catra watched, her ears pinning back.

Scorpia ate her cookie, had a moment of transcendence, and then picked up the mug of tea and held it out to Catra.

Catra took it and admitted to herself it was nice to have something warm on a morning this cold. That sent her mind back to how warm she was that morning tangled in bed with Adora. At that thought, she felt warm all over. “So, where’s the rest of your squad?”

Scorpia had just picked up her tea and froze. “My squad?”

“Yeah. Where is everyone else?” Catra started a cautious sip of the tea.

Scorpia blinked at her, then managed an awkward smile. “I hate to tell you this, but you’re it.”

The tea caught in Catra’s throat, and she spat it out in a spray as the content of that statement hit her brain along with the implications.

Scorpia, covered in lukewarm tea spray, just continued to smile like nothing had happened.

“Sory, wrong pipe.” Catra’s voice was hoarse.

Scorpia, still smiling, shook her head to get off the excess water. “No problem. It happens all the time.”

Catra put down the tea. “I’m your only squad member?” The disbelief came through in her voice.

Scorpia shrugged. “It’s not much, but you’ve got to start somewhere, right?”

Catra’s tail retreated further under her, and she sank lower. She started to wonder if Shadow Weaver had picked Scorpia to distract her or her to distract Scorpia. Catra frowned as she realized it was probably both. Leave it to Shadow Weaver to kill two birds with one re-assignment.

Scorpia wasn’t a total idiot. She saw Catra’s reaction, and it deflated her too. “I know I’m not the best Force Captain, but I am loyal, and I know we can make a great team.” She perked up instantly, her natural optimism taking over.

The hair on Catra’s back went up as she heard Lonnie’s voice in her head, making fun of her for being reassigned to the only Force Captain without a proper squad. She was leaking cred by the second. She looked around to take stock of who could see her, and her eyes landed on Adora.

Adora had stepped out from the tanks with the other force captains, but she had stopped when her eyes fell on Catra, then Scorpia. Adora had that look on her face where she didn’t know what to make of what she was seeing, and she quickly looked away. 

Catra’s face was burning. She would have to explain this later to Adora somehow.

Scorpia scooted closer to her and tapped her shoulder with her pincer. “Hey, we’ll make the best of it, ok?”

Catra took a deep breath. “I’m going to get back at Shadow Weaver someday for all this,” she muttered under her breath.

Scorpia shuddered. “Oh yeah, that woman scares the living daylights out of me.”

“She’s not scary. She’s evil.” Catra pulled her knees in, wrapping her arms around them. She was trying to come up with a plan to fix all this. Get back in Adora’s squad. Get in a real squad. Something.

Scorpia watched Catra’s body language and could tell this was someone in need of something. Scorpia didn’t know what, but she was there to try. She scooted closer, nudging Catra’s shoulder with hers. “Hey, if you need a buddy against that crazy evil woman, I’ll be there for you.”

Catra rolled her eyes and scooted away.

Scorpia moved closer. “I’m not lying. She may scare me, but I won’t let a friend down.”

“You don’t know what you're offering,” Catra said as she buried her head further in her arms.

Scorpia was careful not to crowd Catra, but she leaned over her with a smile. “Hey, we’re part of the same squad, so we’ve got to watch each other's backs.”

Catra looked up at Scorpia and kicked herself for how those words made her feel. They reminded her of someone who was probably trying to figure out what the hell she was feeling on the other side of the tarmac. 

Catra tore her eyes away from the stupidly genuine woman beside her and looked for Adora. Adora was gone. A frantic look around, and she saw Adora leaving with the other force captains. Every hair on Catra’s body stood up as she saw one of them put a hand on the small of Adora’s back, and Adora flinched.

Catra got on her feet and nearly ran to take care of it right there and then. Adora was uncomfortable, but her stupid people-pleasing brain wouldn’t let her stand up for herself. “Where are they going?” She asked.

Scorpia looked back and around until she landed on the group of people leaving.”Oh, they’re going to the gym before lunch.”

Catra looked at Scorpia, her eyes burning. “Do you go to the gym before lunch?”

Scorpia scrambled to her feet and looked down at Catra. “I can.”

“Can I go with you?”

“Absolutely!”

***

The Force Captain Gym was a place Catra was aware of but had never actually seen in person. Once Scorpia let her in, it seemed magical. Weights, machines, water bottles, and clean, dry towels. Lots of open space for sparring mats and a running track that went around the outside of the room.

Catra forced herself not to gush over the accommodations, and instead, she looked for the blonde with the hair poof that needed saving. She found her, on the low end of a squat with a barbell on her shoulders. Catra’s legs felt weak at the sight.

Scorpia gently got Catra’s shoulder and started dragging her toward a corner. “Let me show you how much I can deadlift. I’m the record holder here.”

Catra looked up at her in shock. “You’re kidding me.”

Scorpia beamed at that look. “I’ll show you.”

Catra was, honestly, genuinely interested in that but found herself looking over her shoulder at Adora across the room.

Adora stood up, shuffled over to set the weight back on the bar, and stood back so someone else could have a turn. She went for her water bottle.

Scorpia pulled Catra to the deadlift station, where a massive barbell with what looked to be too much weight sat ready. She grabbed a weight belt, started to put it on carefully, and had some difficulty with her pincers. “Just watch. It’s my specialty move.”

Catra positioned herself to be in front of Scorpia. It was a perfect spot because she could look over her shoulder and see Adora. While Scorpia got ready, Catra watched Adora start to take a drink of her water bottle, tilt her head back. One of the people around her moved forward, dumping their own water bottle on purpose over Adora’s chest while her head was tilted back. Catra’s claws were out without her even willing them.

Scorpia got in place and knelt. “This is nothing. I could do this amount in my sleep.”

Catra was breathing fast and shallow as she watched Adora flinch at the sudden cold, and then the asshole that dumped the water moved in with a towel and put his hands on her. Adora froze in a way that made Catra think of murder. It was Adora’s automatic reaction when things were happening too fast, and she was uncomfortable. Catra knew that look by heart, and it made her blood boil to see it. She nearly lost herself to rage.

Scorpia huffed, and lifted the massive weight to standing, breathed out. Her pincers held tight to the bar. Her biceps bulged, and she smiled at Catra.

Catra allowed herself a moment of distraction to watch, if only as a favor for the contraband food. Still, she was processing the complex set of emotions boiling in her about what was going on on the other end of the room. She had to slow down. She had to look for an opening to do something.

Scorpia put the weight down, threw her hair back, and adjusted her broad shoulders. “What do you think of that?”

Catra’s lip twitched. “It was majestic.” Her tone was flat. She glanced past Scorpia to see Adora quickly making an excuse to exit- which was about the only thing she’d allowed herself to do when she felt uncomfortable. Catra’s brain rushed. “Do they have something to drink here?” She said, half-aware of the words as she focused her entire being on the group laughing at the other end of the room.

Scorpia blinked. “Uh- sure. Do you want something?”

“Yeah. Anything but water.” There was water everywhere. It would take Scorpia some time to get something else.

Scorpia was all smiles and a slight blush that was either from the request or the massive amount of weight she had just pulled off the ground. She was also a little dizzy and sweaty, but all that could be chalked up to the lift as well. “Sure thing. Give me a moment.” She rushed off, staggering a bit.

The moment Scorpia was out of sight, Catra moved. She was fast on her feet. She could move like lightning through any terrain. The weights and machines of a gym were nothing but perches and well-weighted places to jump off. Her claws came out as she reached the group still laughing behind Adora’s back. Her eyes blazed with anger as the asshole turned to see her.

***

Adora went to the sink to get some paper towels to dry herself off and stopped when she heard laughter through the bathroom walls. Her stomach twisted in knots at the sound. She knew enough to assume they were laughing at her. The thought of it made her feel sick, and she grabbed some paper towels to start getting the water out of her shirt when the laughter suddenly stopped.

Adora came out to find the group of force captains she had been talking to gone. Her shoulders fell in a relief that surprised her. She looked up to see Catra across the room, and her spirits lifted. She waved.

Catra gave her a big smile that made her eyes close and waved back.

Adora started walking over to talk, glad to have someone else there she knew, then the big woman she had seen Catra with earlier showed up holding glasses. Adora watched Catra turn to her with a big smile that made Adora’s stomach turn over. 

Catra took the drink, and they started talking. A moment later, Catra was laughing.

Adora turned away from that and headed to the cafeteria for lunch. She decided the painful feeling in her core was hunger- just hunger.

***

Adora spent the day doing what she was told. She said yes ma’am or yes sir when she was instructed to do something, and she avoided the group that had crowded around her in the gym. That was easy. They seemed to be avoiding her too. That was a relief. She ate her two ration bar dinner when she was told, and she went back to her room when she was dismissed. 

She got to her room and laid down on her bed, unable to do anything but stare at the ceiling and think of the look of happiness on Catra’s face as she looked up at- what was her name? Adora knew of her, recognized her from force captain morning meetings. Her brain got stuck thinking about trying to place this scorpion woman and trying to add up Catra’s reaction and why it made her stomach feel so bad.

The only thing that dragged her out of it was the sound of nails gently tapping at her door. Her eyes closed. Catra had come. She couldn’t express why she was so relieved, but she was. 

Adora forced herself up and went to the door. She touched the door panel as her body started to relax. As the door slid up, she began to say “Ca-” and then saw who it was, and her brain did a hard reset. “Shadow Weaver!” She stepped back and threw her hand into a salute on autopilot while her brain reeled at what was happening.

Shadow Weaver hovered into the room. “I wanted to stop by and check how you were adjusting to your new position.”

Every word made Adora’s spine stiffen so she was standing straighter and straighter. “I can report I am adjusting well.” Her brain had not quite caught up with the situation, but her autopilot was working perfectly.

Shadow Weaver turned her attention to the area, her eyes landing on the unkempt bed and the socks on the floor. “I see you are getting _comfortable_ in your new room.”

Without waiting for orders, Adora flew into action, picking up the socks and hastily trying to make the bed.

Shadow Weaver watched the frantic action quietly before instructing, “Just because you have a room of your own does not mean you can give up on cleanliness and order, Adora.”

Adora finished up her bed and stood at attention again. “Understood.”

Shadow Weaver moved in. “Hordak is impressed with your performance so far. On my request, he has assigned you to draw up the plains to invade Plumeria.”

Adora’s attention stance faltered for a movement as her brain processed those words. Plumeria was a nation led by a princess. A real princess. Her heart rate spiked at the possibility. “I would be honored.”

“Of course you would.”

Adora’s eyes were caught by a motion in the hall, through the open door, past Shadow Weaver’s shoulder. Catra had just stepped into the doorway when her eyes fell on Shadow Weaver’s back.

Adora’s eyes went wide. Shadow Weaver noted the reaction and started to turn.

Catra was a blur of motion as Shadow Weaver looked behind her shoulder to see nothing in the hall. She turned back to Adora. “He wants the job done quickly. The region has resources the Horde needs to increase weapon production.”

“No problem. I’ll get right on it.”

Shadow Weaver hesitated but nodded. “Good. I expect the plans by noon tomorrow.”

Adora saluted again.

Shadow Weaver looked Adora over and took a slow breath. “ I’ve put my name and reputation on the line for you. Do not disappoint me.” She turned sharply and out into the hallway.

Catra’s limbs shook as she dug her front claws into the ceiling, and her back claws into the wall, to ledge herself in the space above Adora’s door. Her jaw clenched as she watched Shadow Weaver float out of the door.

Catra’s muscles screamed at her, but she kept it up with the thought of waking up with her legs entwined in Adora’s. Any amount of pain was worth it. Her limbs started to tremble at the effort.

Shadow Weaver sulked down the hall slowly, then turned the corner, and Catra let all her muscles go at once.

Adora chose that moment to step out into the hall to find her friend.

Catra landed on Adora’s shoulders, and Adora yelped. Catra launched off Adora even with her legs burning. She threw herself back into the room with a flip.

Shadow Weaver poked her head around the corner. “Is everything alright?”

Adora smiled back a little dazed as she righted herself. “Yeah. I just- I stubbed my toe.” To try to sell the lie, she grabbed her foot and hopped back into her room, shutting the door behind her. 

Shadow Weaver turned away, sure that Adora was acting strangely but unable to discern why. She convinced herself it didn’t matter, as long as Adora was playing her part and not getting distracted, nothing else mattered.

Adora leaned against the closed door, breathing heavily. “Wow. That was- that was really dangerous.” She stepped forward and locked eyes with Catra who was perched on her bed.

Catra was hyped up. Adora could tell that from her dilated eyes and the way her legs shifted. Catra lowered her head and raised her haunches without breaking eye contact. 

Adora knew what was coming, and didn’t even brace against it. Catra launched at her, knocking her shoulders and sending her to the ground flat on her back. Adora giggled as the weight of Catra’s body settled on her and made a mocking attempt at swatting Catra away. “Stop it. You’re being ridiculous.”

“Me? I’m not the one who nearly got us in trouble.” Catra extended her claws, and playfully poked at Adora’s face in a way that she was sure she’d get a response.

Adora flinched at the poking and grabbed Catra’s wrists. “Cut it out. I didn’t do anything. She just stopped by.”

Adora didn’t let go of Catra’s wrists, and Catra’s tail flipped back and forth, hitting Adora’s thighs. She had to take a breath at the feeling before she pushed Catra up and let go. She sat up. “Maybe we need to come up with some kind of system.”

Catra practically swayed back and forth, a growing smile. “Oh, so you want to make this a regular thing do you?”

“You’re the one who came back.”

“Poor Adora, so desperate-”

At that, Adora swatted at Catra, and Catra giggled and launched back toward the bed.

The smile on Catra’s face wouldn’t go away as she started gathering up the blanket and rubbing herself on it. “Is it the warmth or the purring you like better?”

Adora got up, dusted herself off, and smiled as she approached the bed. “Certainly not the attitude.” Adora was expecting Catra to quip off at her, but that didn’t happen. Instead, Catra’s eyes went wide, and her smile was gone. 

“Wait. We can do the whole banter thing later. I have something important for you.” Catra dug into her pocket.

Adora stopped in her tracks at the seriousness in Catra’s voice.

Catra pulled out the cookie from her pocket and held it out to Adora.

Adora stared at it. “What is it?”

“It’s contraband food. I got it from-” Catra stopped, her ears going flat and her tail flicking the bed. “-Scorpia,” Catra offered quietly.

“Oh, so that’s her name.” It was almost a relief since she had been trying to remember that name all day. Adora looked back at the food. “I shouldn’t. It’s against the rules.” Even as she said it, the smell of it hit her nose and made her mouth water.

Catra pushed it forward. “Screw the rules. Try it.”

Adora slowly reached forward to take the offer.

Catra’s whole body felt like it had to move as she held back her anticipation.

Adora held the food and looked up at Catra. “So, what were you doing with Scorpia?”

Catra moved back, unsure of herself and the tone in Adora’s voice. It sounded almost sad. “Shadow Weaver moved me to her squad.”

Adora turned the food over in her fingers, still considering the consequences of eating it. “She seems nice to give you something like this.” Adora held the cookie back out to Catra. “So you should have it.”

Catra pushed it back. “I had one already. This one's for you, idiot.”

“She let you have two? Wow.” Adora pulled the cookie back and held it under her nose for a good sniff before taking a small bite off the side. As she chewed, and it coated her mouth, her eyes fluttered.

Catra never felt so enraptured by anything in her whole life.

Adora took a bigger bite and made a noise that embarrassed her and made Catra feel some things she could not have put into words.

Catra watched in utter reverence.

Adora managed to swallow and tried to regain herself. “That might have been the best thing I’ve ever eaten.” She took a breath. “Thank you and thank Scorpia too.” She wasn’t sure how she really felt about the woman, but if she was being nice to Catra, that was something.

Catra felt small at that genuine sentiment and she moved to make room for Adora on the bed. “I’ll bring you more if she gives me more.” She tried to act cool by laying back down on the bed on her back. She chose the exact center just to be a nuisance. She watched Adora expecting her to laugh and make a comment about what a jerk Catra was being, but instead, Adora just watched her.

Without taking her eyes off Catra, Adora took off her boots and undid her jacket.

Catra’s heart thumped hard at the way she was being watched. She realized with a start that she was vulnerable. Defense mechanisms kicked in. Time to deflect. She grabbed one of the pillows behind her head and tossed it toward Adora’s stupid face. 

Adora grunted but caught the pillow before it hit her. She giggled.

Catra could have died at that smile.

They both heard a click, and the lights shut off. Their moods plummeted. They had lost track of time.

Adora had to stand there a moment to let her eyes adjust to the dark.

Catra took a moment to drink the sight of Adora in the dark. This was becoming her favorite time of the day- when she had unfettered looking time. Still, Catra moved back to what could be called her side of the bed.

Adora put down the pillow and reached forward to feel the bed to see where there was room for her.

Catra watched, sorely wishing she hadn’t moved because if she hadn’t, then Adora’s hands would be exploring her at the moment. That thought sent her whole body to alight with feeling, which was bad before bed time. She tried to squash it as Adora climbed into bed.

Just like the night before, Adora curled in to face Catra, and Catra turned to do the same.

For a moment, they laid there in the dark and neither would have guessed that they were both thinking the same thing. Both wanted to start the night where their last night had ended, entangled in every way. They both couldn’t stop thinking about how comfortable and warm it had been. Neither wanted to be the loser who asked for it, though. Neither wanted to be the weak one that needed the comfort.

They both waited for the other to ask for it.

The emotional standoff was too much, and both just closed their eyes in defeat.

Adora waited till she was sure Catra had to be asleep. Catra did the same.

Nearly simultaneously, the two of them acted like they were shifting in their sleep. Adora moved to lay on her back but scooted closer to Catra, sticking her leg out a little further than was necessary. 

Simultaneously Catra moved in like she was just shifting in her sleep, putting her head on Adora’s shoulder like it was just another pillow. Her arm landed on Adora’s stomach, just like it was just a blanket. Her leg ended up on top of Adora’s leg because- well- that leg was too close anyway.

They both relaxed into the position, happy to be able to blame the other one for it in the morning.

They both slipped into good dreams full of unlimited cookies, and soft morning cuddling.

The alarm went off with unrelenting regularity, and Adora only half woke up. In a morning daze, she tore her arm away from the warm space it had found itself. She hit the button to turn the alarm off. 

Catra’s chest erupted in a purr they shifted back into a comfortable position together. The soft rumble tugged at the sleepy part of Adora’s brain and the part of her that craved comfort and warmth in an environment where she had been denied both. 

With Catra’s head still on her shoulder, and their limbs entangled, Adora drifted off to get back to where she had left in her dream.


	3. Consequences

Waking up was slow. Slower than it had ever been their whole life, and they both became aware of their position at the same time. They were on their sides, facing each other, with Catra’s head tucked under Adora’s chin. They were in each other’s arms in an embrace that neither had ever imagined before. 

Catra tried to fight the purr starting in her chest, but when she realized Adora had already felt it because they were so close, she let it go. It erupted between them, and Adora smiled big. “A little needy, aren’t you?”

Catra adjusted herself but stayed tucked under Adora’s chin. The rumble got louder, and Catra bit her lip. Her heart was always on her sleeve with her stupid purr and her stupid tail, and her stupid expressive ears. She hated it. She hated that the equation between her and Adora was so unbalanced. Adora had that stupid smile and those big bright blue eyes, and admittedly she often wore her heart on her sleeve anyway, but she didn’t have to. She didn’t have a purr that betrayed her.

Adora started with a hum in her chest and then let it come out as an ‘rrrrrrrrr,’ trying her best to replicate the sound.

It took Catra half a second too long to realize what Adora was doing. She smiled to herself but playfully pinched Adora’s side.

Adora giggled and allowed herself the indulgence of scratching the back of Catra’s hair. “Hey, if you’re going to purr so much, I should learn to do it too.” Adora went back to making the sound as best she could.

Catra’s face felt hot as she did it. It made her rumble get louder.

Adora reveled in it for a moment. The fantastic knowledge that Catra’s purr was responsive- that was new. She had never been allowed to play with it so openly. She scratched Catra’s hair a bit more, and the rumble just got worse. Adora practically beamed.

Catra hid her face into her friend if only because she was full on blushing now.

Adora smiled big and offered, “Oh, I think you like me.”

“Shut up,” Catra said, half meaning it, muffled against Adora’s body.

It was an exhilarating feeling, having Catra that close. Adora stopped smiling as her brain started reeling with the thought of what would happen if anyone saw them like this. At best, teasing for being soft. At worse, if it was Shadow Weaver, then a harsher punishment for daring to be weak. “We probably shouldn’t do this.”

Catra made a half-hearted attempt to pull away before diving back in and snuggling into Adora. “Fuck it. No one can see us,” she whispered.

Adora’s eyes went wide as she realized what had happened, and her chest felt warm and not just because Catra was there. She blinked and discovered in a moment that this was more than she had ever wanted. Something she didn’t even dare to ask for, dare to wish for. For all the times they had sought solace in each other over the years, made promises, and stuck together, they had never once been allowed the simple pleasure of a heartfelt hug. Adora had been sure, all her life, that Catra would claw her at the mere suggestion, but there she was, fully awake and choosing to be right there.

Adora, impossibly lost in the brand new world that had just opened up for her, wrapped her arms around Catra’s body and her head and pulled her close.

For a moment, Catra was startled at the touch. It was so alien to her, but she melted into it and closed her eyes, and they both laid there with the rumbling of Catra’s chest to bind them.

Whatever magic existed between them was shattered when someone knocked on Adora’s door.

Adora flinched, pulling out of the hug, and rolled to look at the clock. It was well past the time the alarm should have gone off. All the warm, happy feelings she had drained out of her, replaced with pure panic. “Shit-” she muttered under her breath as she threw the blanket off and turned to sit on the edge of the bed. “Just a moment!” She called out.

Catra was bewildered until she saw the clock while Adora got up. Reality came crashing down on her hard. 

“Force Captain Adora, it’s Lonnie. Kyle and Rogelio are here with me.” The familiar voice was muffled through the door.

Catra threw the blanket over her head and hissed.

Adora looked back at her, wanting to tell her to quiet, but anything she said would be evidence against them. Instead, she went to the door. “I’ll be out in a minute!”

“Catra missed morning muster,” Lonnie said casually. “Shadow Weaver’s pissed. Sent us to go look for her and drag her back for punishment.”

Adora froze in her spot as the idea of Catra being punished for something she had done drilled its way into her brain.

Lonnie continued. “Anyway, I wanted to inform our Force Captain that we’re certainly going to look for Catra, but we’ll be doing it in the rec room for the next two hours.”

Adora blinked, still processing why Lonnie would have told her that.

“We will just tell Catra the next time we _see_ her that she owes _us_. See ya’, Adora.” With that, they heard the squad walk down the hall.

Catra threw the blanket off her head. “Did they just do something decent?”

Adora looked back and locked eyes with Catra. “I got you in trouble. I didn’t get up with the alarm.”

Catra shook her head and got up. “You’re worried about the wrong part. Your squad just gave me two hours to figure out a way out of this.”

Adora stared at Catra for a long movement before blurting out, “Did they just automatically assume you would be here?”

Catra ignored that and stretched a bit. “Two hours is plenty of time to come up with an alibi.”

As she moved, Adora tracked Catra, her brain processing why the squad would assume Catra was with her.

Catra saw that poor helpless look on Adora’s face, and for a moment pitied her. Everyone loved Adora, but sometimes she could be as dense as the metal walls that surrounded them. “I’m going to go find Scorpia. She said a lot of shit about watching my back. We’ll see if she’ll keep her word.” Catra got a devious smile. “Shadow Weaver can’t do shit if I missed muster because I was following orders.”

Adora had a range of emotions. First, surprise. Who was this woman who so quickly offered protection? Then a moment of temporary relief as a solution presented itself. Then, a more complicated feeling that included her stomach, and not in a way she liked. Adora’s shoulders fell. She wanted Catra to be safe. She desperately wanted not to be the one who put her in danger in the first place, but the idea of this woman being the solution made her feel worse.

Catra moved in, taking Adora’s hand and squeezing it. “Hey, don’t worry. I got this. If Scorpia doesn’t pull through, I’ll just disappear for a week and pretend I got captured or something.”

Adora nodded as she processed all that information. The handhold was good. It was the one thing grounding her thoughts at the moment.

Catra smiled at her. “You’ve got to go about your life like normal. I know what a bad actor you are, but you’re going to have to pretend like you’re having a really normal day, ok?”

Adora nodded, still in a daze.

Catra squeezed Adora’s hand one more time before turning toward the door. “If I’m alive this evening, I’ll be back.”

Adora couldn’t stop the whine that came out of her as her stomach clenched at the idea of Catra dying, let alone because of her.

Catra winked back at Adora. “Wish me luck.” She hit the button to open the door and looked out into the hall to check for witnesses before she ran at full speed.

Adora stood in utter shock at how casual Catra was about all of this. Adora wanted to stop her- keep her from leaving. She wanted to hold her there all morning and just keep her safe. Instead, she had to let her go and pretend as if nothing happened. 

The door slid back shut on its own, and Adora stood there lost. She looked back at the clock and realized she had only a few hours to develop a plan for the taking of Plumeria. She would have to skip breakfast. She grabbed her jacket and forced herself to go to the planning room.

***

Catra moved fast with a mix of excitement and fear that always seemed to drive her. She hadn’t known Scorpia for very long, so she didn’t know her schedule. Her best bet was to look in the open area near the tanks where they had met the day before. She’d start there and then ask around.

She reached the tanks. Her ears twitched, turned. She heard Scorpia’s voice, and her whole body reacted.

Scorpia laughed and jabbed someone with her closed pincers while they tried to excuse themselves when Catra skidded to a stop in front of her new Force Captain. 

The person Scorpia was trying to talk to took the moment to make a hasty exit while Scorpia lost her smile, looking Catra over. “What happened?”

Catra breathed heavily, then stood up and tried to adjust her hair to look not so frazzled. “All that stuff you said yesterday about watching my back, well- I need you to pay up.”

Scorpia’s eyebrows lifted. “Sure. What do you need?”

Catra was not expecting it to be that easy. “I missed morning muster, and I need an alibi. If I don’t have one-” She had managed to go the whole morning without thinking what would happen if she got caught. She knew Shadow Weaver too well. She would torture her to find out where she had been. Worst-case scenario, magic would be involved, and Catra would have no choice but to implicate Adora. That thought gave her the first spike of fear all morning.

Scorpia held up a pincer. “So- you just need an excuse, right?”

Catra nodded. 

“Say no more. I got you. We can use my tail.”

Catra’s ears went down flat against her head. “What does your tail have to do with it?”

Scorpia had a proud smile as she moved forward. “I sting you, and you pass out. I tell Shadow Weaver it was an accident, and that’s why you were late.”

Catra flinched back a little. “You’re going to sting me?”

“It’s not dangeru-”

Before Scorpia could finish, Catra felt a sharp pain in her thigh, and the world started to fade. The last thing she saw was Scorpia panicking. The last thing she heard was, “I’m so sorry! It’s got a mind of its own!” With that, Catra watched the world go black.

***

Shadow Weaver did not spend her time idly. She had paperwork to do. She had weapons orders to organize and reports to read, but she was also distracted by thinking of where Catra had been that morning. She had gotten lax with her attention on her most problematic ward. That thought made her eager to find the girl and use whatever power she had to exact an answer.

The door to her chamber opened, and she looked up.

Force Captain Scorpia walked in with a nervous smile and Catra on her shoulder. “Hey- so- I think I may have messed up.” She pulled Catra off her shoulder by her leg, dangling her in the air.

Shadow Weaver saw first the limp body and then the unfocused eyes. Her mask hid the face she made as a thought jumped into her brain that Catra was dead. Her hair stood up higher with growing magic as she pulled it from the black garnet. Her fingertips crackled as she prepared to end Scorpia with the magic from her own runestone. Catra had been an insolent brat, but no one was going to kill her ward but her.

Scorpia’s awkward smile was gone as she saw the growing magic. “She’s not dead! I just accidentally stung her.”

The magic dissipated almost instantly, and Shadow Weaver, for a moment, let herself wonder why she had reacted so strongly. She forced her voice to be calm. “You did what?”

Scorpia wasn’t trying to hurt Catra’s leg, so she wasn’t holding firmly, and her fur made her a little difficult to grasp. Catra slipped out of her grip and landed in a pile of limp limbs on the floor. Scorpia laughed nervously. “I just accidentally stung her, and I didn’t know when it was going to wear off. I thought you might have been worried about her, so I brought her to show you she’s fine.” She gave Shadow Weaver a big awkward smile while trying desperately to get a hold of Catra in a way that wouldn’t hurt her. Trying to pick up a passed out Catra was like trying to pick up water.

Shadow Weaver stared at Scorpia, knowing her mask would prevent the woman from picking up the expression on her face. She tried to tamper her voice. “Force Captain, I asked you to keep an eye on her, not nearly kill her. I don’t need the scrutiny if one of the cadets under my authority were to be injured.”

“I get that. I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional.” She wasn’t lying. She managed to get ahold of Catra’s middle and hoist her back onto her shoulder.

Shadow Weaver took a slow, steady, calming breath before declaring, “Get her out of my sight, and keep her hidden before anyone starts asking questions. Do you understand me, Force Captain?”

“No problem! Sorry for the trouble Ma’am!” She turned and left without needing to be told twice.

***

The plan was rushed. Adora knew that, but she had a deadline and couldn’t focus. She made up for a lot by putting herself up front so she could change the plan if things got too out of control. 

In the plan, she specified that Scorpia’s squad would be in a tank on the eastern border in a moment of hurried worry and carelessness. It was a moment of hope, an offer to both Scopria and Catra if they managed to survive. Catra would get a kick out of the tank going over such rugged terrain, and Scorpia might appreciate the strategic importance if she cared about that kind of thing. It was a little moment of hope in Adora’s already horrible morning.

While she drew up the plans, all she could think about was what happened to Catra, and hoping beyond hope that this Scorpia was as good as her word. At that thought, another mix of emotions made Adora want to skip lunch because of the way her stomach felt.

That twisting stomach went with her to Shadow Weaver’s chambers before noon to give her the plan and stayed with her as Adora wondered if this was the same room that Shadow Weaver would have punished Catra. She stood at attention, trying to smell the tell-tale scent of discharged magic or burnt fur. 

Shadow Weaver flipped through the plan. “Commendable that you would put yourself on the front line. That’s exactly the kind of initiative Hordak likes to see.” She looked up. “You look very pale. Are you getting sick?”

Adora shook her head on instinct. Never admit weakness. Never admit defeat.

“Well, if you are, stay in your room. I don’t need the other Force Captains sensing weakness in you. The moment they smell blood-” She paused, reading more of the plan. “I will take this to Hordak later this evening. I’m sure he’ll approve it.” 

Adora felt a small relief at that. She had, at least, passed one hurdle for the day.

Shadow Weaver leveled her gaze at Adora. “We are at a critical juncture. I need this battle to be a success, Adora, and it all rides on your shoulders.”

Adora saluted with all the excitement she could fake.

Shadow Weaver took a long slow breath before offering, “If this is a success, perhaps I can set up a mission for you and Catra.”

Adora’s face lit up, just for a moment, as she realized that meant Catra had to be alive.

Shadow Weaver noticed the look and continued. “It would be a collaboration with Force Captain Scorpia, of course.”

Adora’s heart was beating so hard she could feel it in her ears. She couldn’t tell if what she felt was anger or excitement.

Shadow Weaver continued. “You should see how well they get along. It’s good to finally see Catra finding other _friends_.”

Anger. The feeling was anger. That surprised Adora.

Shadow Weaver smiled to herself, safely hidden by her mask, glad to see Adora was so easy to control. “You are dismissed.” She turned away, smug in her confidence.

Adora saluted and left to go figure out why she was angry. She should be happy. Catra was at least not in danger anymore.

Adora went to lunch starving, and sure that eating would make her calm down. She got a tray and got in line for a ration bar and something to drink. She couldn’t help but overhear the women in front of her talking.

“-yeah, she was carrying that cat girl. She looked rough.”

“What do you mean rough?” the other asked.

They had Adora’s full attention.

“She looked dead or passed out or something.”

“I guess Scorpia’s taking her to the medic.”

The woman got a look on her face like she was about to share the juiciest gossip. “Oh, no. Last I heard, she was taking the cadet to her room.”

Adora’s heart rate doubled.

The other woman made a face of scandalous shock before offering, “Well, I guess she’s gotta take what she can get.” And then they both started laughing. 

Adora dropped her tray and ran. She didn’t care who saw her. She didn’t care what they thought. At that moment, she didn’t care about the Horde a single bit. All she cared about was the thought that Catra was in trouble and needed her.

Adora knew exactly where Scopria’s room was. She had seen the woman entering or exiting her room half a dozen times. Within minutes she was at the door her heart pounding in her chest and panic nipping at her. She would have broken down the door if she could, but she settled for banging on it.

The door slid open, and the tall white-haired woman looked down at her. “Oh- it’s you. What do you want?”

Adora saw behind her to the bed, where Catra was limp and motionless. Adora’s stomach clenched. “What happened?” She looked up at Scorpia. “What were you going to do to her?”

Scorpia’s eyes went wide, and she staggered back a bit at the accusatory way the new force captain had just talked to her.

Adora pushed her way in, tried to move past the large woman.

Scorpia stopped her with a pincer. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

Adora shoved her back, and readied her fist for a fight. Adora didn’t care how tall the woman was, or how strong. “Let me see her!”

Seeing that the woman was ready to fight, Scorpia let her go.

Adora rushed to the bed, kneeling as she approached. Her hands halted before she touched Catra’s limp, motionless form. “What happened?”

Scorpia quickly closed the door and scratched her neck. She didn’t know what to say. She didn't want to get Catra in any more trouble, and things were getting complicated. “She’s fine. It will wear off in a bit.”

Adora was on her feet, standing between Scorpia and Catra. “What were you doing with her?”

Scorpia put her pincers up and backed up against the wall. “Hey, I don’t like the tone. I was doing as told and keeping her out of sight.”

“In your room?”

“Yeah.”

“In your _bed_?” Adora’s hands were shaking. She was running off instinct.

Scorpia didn't answer immediately, realizing she was dealing with someone who was on edge. “You must be her friend she gave the cookie to?”

That caught Adora off guard.

Scorpia chuckled a bit and relaxed. “I’m Scorpia, and it’s good to meet you.” She cautiously offered a pincer. Not everyone was ok treating it like a hand, but she had figured offering it to shake was better than not offering it. 

Adora looked at the offered appendage, her rage and panic starting to mellow. With some trepidation, she shook the woman’s pincer. “I’m Adora.” Her voice was still a bit shaky.

“Catra was late and-”

“Did Shadow Weaver do this to her?” By now, Adora had tears in her eyes, expecting the worse.

“This? No. This was me.”

Adora clenched her fists, and Scorpia was quick to add, “It was all part of the plan. I mean, it was going to be the plan. I didn’t get the chance to make sure she was ok with it. The tail sometimes has a mind of its own.”

Adora’s eyes went wide as she saw the tail. “You stung her?”

“I know it sounds bad, but it just knocks people out. No harm done. She’ll be fine.” She laughed a little to herself. “It’s funny. Shadow Weaver nearly killed me too. Thought she was dead.”

It took a moment for all of that to go through Adora’s brain, but it landed. She started to relax, or she started to crash. All that adrenaline faded and left her empty. She sat on the bed. “She got out of it then.” She looked back at Catra, her tongue hanging out and her eyes looking in vaguely different directions. It was a disturbing sight, but it was better than what could have happened. Adora looked back at Scorpia. “Thank you. I’m sorry I accused you of-” She hesitated for a moment, trying to piece together exactly what she imagined was happening. It was hard to put into words. 

“No problem.” Scorpia cautioned a move forward. “You know, you’re new, so people are going to notice if you’re not at the briefing after lunch.”

Adora had forgotten about the briefing. She had forgotten about everything in that panic.

“She’ll be ok here on her own. Why don’t you and I head to the briefing together?”

Adora looked up at Scorpia, surprised by the genuine smile. She knew what Scropia was doing. It was an unspoken act of good faith. Maybe Scorpia picked up on the protectiveness or the jealousy. Adora hoped Scorpia wasn’t picking up on the jealousy. “You’re sure she’ll be ok?”

“Absolutely. She might have a headache, and she’ll need water, but she’ll be fine.”

Adora stood up and managed a slight nod. “Sure. Ok. Let’s go. You and me.” Adora would not have left for the world if Scorpia wasn’t going to go with her. Something about leaving Catra alone with anyone while passed out bothered her immensely. Maybe, if people saw them leaving together, perhaps the rumors about this morning would fade. That made Adora calmer.

Adora and Scorpia left her room and started walking to the briefing room. Scorpia seemed in good spirits, and Adora was beginning to feel better.

“So, you and Catra are good friends, right?”

Adora nodded without really thinking about it.

“Great. I’ve wanted to talk to someone who knows her. What’s her favorite color?”

That caught Adroa off guard. “It’s blood red.” At least, that’s what Catra always said when they were growing up. Now that she started thinking about it, maybe it had been more of a threat than it was an admission. 

Scorpia beamed as they entered the briefing room. “Does she like games?”

“Training simulations?”

“No, like board games.”

“Oh- I don’t know. We’ve never-”

“You’ve never played games?”

Cobalt looked up from the presentation and glared at the two of them. They were late. They quickly took their seats at the back of the room. Adora tried to focus on the screen.

Scorpia leaned in and whispered, “Ok, so games are a maybe. What else does she like?”

Adora couldn’t split her attention. The question bored a hole in her mind. What did Catra like? Head scratches. Apparently hugs. She learned that one that morning. Her face started to heat up.

***

Adora sat on the balcony overlooking the Frightzone where she and Catra had spent so many evenings. The sunset was a vibrant blood red.

She was distracted. Scorpia had followed her around all day asking questions, wanting to know more about Catra’s likes, dislikes, her past. Adora should have been the perfect person to answer, but most of the time, her mind went blank. She had barely escaped Scorpia at dinner time by skipping out, and she was so hungry.

She heard someone behind her and closed her eyes, thankful for the fact that it sounded like Catra’s graceful leaps up the metal pipes.

Catra came up behind her and poked her in the middle of the back with a claw. “Miss me?”

Adora turned and pulled Catra into a hug.

Catra froze at first but relaxed into it and cautioned a hug back. “What’s up with you?”

Adora pushed her head into Catra’s neck, half hiding in her hair. “I was worried about you all day.”

Catra smiled big at that. “You didn’t have to. Scorpia pulled through.”

Adora pulled back, looking Catra in the eye. “Do you like games?”

Catra blinked. “What? Like training simulations?”

“No. Like games you play for fun.”

Catra looked at her in shock. “Who the fuck plays games? We’re at war.”

“I know, right? It’s not weird that we’ve never played games. No one plays games.” She turned toward the sunset. 

Catra sat next to her, dangling her feet down and leaning back a bit on her hands. “What was that about?”

Adora shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s been a bizarre day.” She waited a moment, and they both watched the sun dip past the dark gray clouds of the Firghtzone. “You should go back to the barracks to sleep tonight. It’s too dangerous for you to come back to my room.”

Catra laughed loud and hard at that.

Adora panicked a little, seeing some guards below them look up to see what was going on. “It’s not funny. Today was really serious.”

Catra sat up and nudged Adora back, giving her some wiggling eyebrows. “What? You trying to get rid of me now?”

Adora pushed back. “No. I’m trying to protect you.”

“From what? From Shadow Weaver? Fuck her.” Catra got up. “She’s an old lady who's on the way out. Once she’s gone it will be you and me running this place. We’ll be able to do whatever we want.”

Adora got up as well, if only to meet Catra’s unspoken challenge. The tone in Catra’s voice made her feel a bit better. She looked at her friend and felt a flutter in her chest. “So, even after everything that happened today-”

Catra shrugged. “I don’t care about this place. I don’t care about Shadow Weaver in particular.” She paused. “It’s always been you and me, Adora. No one else matters...” 

Adora felt so many things at that moment. A warm growing pride in her friend. A feeling she couldn’t quite place that felt kind of like butterflies in her stomach. She offered her hand.

Catra took Adora’s hand without hesitation.

Adora smiled. “Ok. It’s you and me, and everyone else can deal with it.”

Catra smiled wide while she tightened her grip on Adora’s hand. “Damn the consequences.”

They were both, at that moment, clear about what they were. They were allies- allies against a world that gave them nothing. An ally is what they both needed. Being allies apparently included cuddling in bed because that was what they both also needed. 

For a moment, they both got excited about the possibility of what else an ally could provide them that they needed. Just as that thought hit, they let go and tried to regain themselves.

Adora waited a long moment before the chill of the twilight started getting to her. “So- you want to go get warm?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”


	4. Flowers for Hordak

Adora didn’t feel like she had slept. Not really. She spent the night tossing and turning, listening for the alarm. Catra cuddled up to her side every time she settled, and it felt good, and it hurt too. Her closeness was a constant reminder to Adora that she had very nearly caused her friend a lot of problems by being careless. She stopped and revised. Careless and weak. How else could she explain wanting- needing, to be cuddled in the morning like a child and neglecting her duty to her friend, nearly getting her in trouble. Those thoughts left her wide awake before the alarm went off. Catra sprawled out with her legs half over her, her body twisted in a way only she could manage, and she was snoring. 

Adora loved the sound of Catra’s soft breathing, and the weight of her legs made her feel a bit calmer. It didn’t matter what happened the day before. The point was, Catra was fine and had chosen to come back to her. It didn't matter that Scorpia had to intervene. Sometimes, Catra needed a hero, and right now, Adora couldn’t be that for her without getting her in trouble. 

A sharp pain went through her at that thought, and her hand went up to her face on instinct. Her fingers touched the almost invisible scars that young Catra had given her over her new friend Lonnie back when they were young. She wondered if what she felt for Scorpia had been what Catra felt for Lonnie- if that same pain in her stomach had made Catra lash out all those years ago.

Catra moved, groaning with the effort of waking up. She rolled over with a smile and settled on opening her eyes lazily. 

Adora quickly put her hand down. She didn’t want to remind Catra of her scars. Even though Catra would never apologize, Adora knew she felt bad for striking her. She knew because of the way Catra had fussed about the wound for weeks, making sure it was bandaged and cleaned, and hissing slightly at herself when she muttered how close it had been to Adora’s eye. As much as Catra hated that time, Adora remembers it as the time she realized Catra cared. She cared in a way that she couldn’t express openly.

Catra glanced at the clock, then back at Adora. “Did you sleep at all?”

Adora was sure she had to have slept because she kept having nightmares about being late, but she didn't feel rested.  _ Never show weakness _ . “Yeah. Did you?”

Catra started stretching in that lythe way only she could do, arching her back and popping all her joints in quick succession. 

Adora watched with rapt attention.

“I slept just fine with a tossing and turning blonde girl waking me up every few minutes.” Despite her words, she smiled. She stopped stretching and moved to Adora’s side, poking her with her nails in the stomach.

Adora couldn’t help but smile as she flinched. “Sorry. I’m nervous.”

“About the alarm or the next big horde win you’re going to plan?”

Adora blinked, not wanting to admit either. She instead started to get out of bed.

Catra whined. “You could at least stay here until the alarm goes off. Kind of cruel of you to get me addicted to your warmth just to take it away.”

_ Addicted to warmth _ . That turn of phrase turned over in Adora’s head. It sounded like something Shadow Weaver would say. It didn’t make her want to lay back down. She didn’t want to be weak. She stood up instead.

Catra didn’t react, except her tail beat on the mattress in protest.

“I’ve got a lot of things to do this morning. If Hordak approved my plans- then I don’t have a lot of time to prepare.”

Catra rolled over on her back, put her hands above her head, and stretched out. “You’re going to prepare for an attack before you even know if it’s been approved? Damn Adora, you really are a loser.”

Adora looked back to give a comeback, but her attention was arrested by how Catra looked on the bed, spread out like that. It looked like an invitation, but to what she wasn’t sure. She tried to regain her brain, drag it back to a witty comeback to play along- to counterpoint the verbal banter that both of them used to avoid anything real, but her stomach betrayed her. It growled long and hard.

Catra sat up, her ears alert. “Are you ok?”

Adora put a hand over her stomach. “I just need to go get breakfast before things get started.”

Catra narrowed her eyes at Adora. “Did you skip meals yesterday?”

Adora turned away to start putting on her boots.

“The fuck, Adora? You know how that messes you up. It’s not like they let you make up for it. They call them ration bars for a reason. They get  _ rationed _ !”

“I’m fine. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.” Her stomach betrayed her again by making a louder noise.

“Do you remember the last time you skipped meals? You passed out during training, and I had to drag your ass back to the barracks and steal food for you until you got better.” 

Adora avoided Catra’s eyes as she buckled her boots and stood up.

Catra was out of the bed and glaring. “We watch out for each other, right?”

Adora nodded.

“Well, right now, I can’t be around you during the day, so I need you to take care of yourself. I need you to eat.” Her tail flicked back and forth erratically. “You and your stupid self-sacrificial bullshit.” She turned on Adora with her brows furrowed. She poked a nail into Adora’s chest, but her words stung more. “You’ve got to be selfish for me. You’ve got to take what you need and tell everyone else to screw it.”

Adora looked away, grabbing her jacket.

“I mean it. I need you to survive long enough for us to-”

Adora stopped cold, hanging on to those words. Maybe her face looked hopeful, or scared, or a mix of both.

Catra turned away, frustrated, before finishing, “We’ve got to survive this place so we can rule the world, right?”

Adora nodded.

“Then make sure you eat and sleep.” Catra watched Adora put on her Force Captain badge and felt a sudden pain at it before she added, “Or else they're all going to see that you’re not at your peak, and they’re going to chew you up and spit you out.”

That also sounded like something Shadow Weaver would say. It made Adora’s stomach feel sick. She set her jaw and looked Catra in the eye. “I’m not weak.”

“I know.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I know.”

Her stomach growled again. “I’m going to get breakfast.”

Catra folded her arms. “You’d better.”

Just then, the alarm went off, and Adora hit it hard to quiet it. She didn’t want to say anything else. She didn’t want to betray any other feelings or weaknesses or admit how tired and hungry she was. She left her room without another word.

Catra followed and slapped Adora in the back before sprinting down the hall to get to the barracks in time.

Adora righted herself from the playful hit and watched Catra leave with an ache she ascribed to hunger, even though she felt it in her chest.

Her stomach hunger got worse when she was back in line for breakfast, holding an empty tray and her mouth watering for even the brown ration bars.

She was startled when she felt someone’s hand on her shoulder. The air crackled, and she didn’t have to turn to know who it was.

“Lord Hordak has summoned you, Force Captain,” Shadow Weaver said, her voice dripping with pride.

Adora stared at her, and for a moment, held on to her tray with Catra’s words from that morning echoing in her head. She needed to be selfish and tell people to what? Screw it? She couldn’t tell Shadow Weaver to tell Hordak to screw it.

“Well? What are you waiting for? You have an audience with Hordak himself.”

Adora never took her eyes off Shadow Weaver as she, against her stomach’s wishes, put the tray down and followed Shadow Weaver out of the cafeteria. There would be plenty of time for eating later. Destiny awaited.

She regretted it when she was standing in front of Hordak for the first time, stomach empty and feeling faint.

He didn’t look at her, which was preferable. He instead sat on his throne and looked at her paperwork. “Shadow Weaver tells me you think you can take Plumeria in a day.” He flipped through some of the papers.

Adora had to reach deep into her memory, past the hunger, the tiredness, to remember why in the world she thought that. “Our scouts have reported no buildings, no weapons, and no standing guards or soldiers. It seems they are confident in their Princess’s ability to protect them. That pride will be their undoing.”

He did look up at that. Adora straightened her back.

Shadow Weaver moved forward, gathering his attention. “As you can see in the plan, the whole operation hinges on a fast strike to overwhelm the princess, separate her from her people, and divide her attention. Really, a brilliant strategy.”

He closed the papers. “I don't care about strategy. I care about progress.” He tapped his finger on his throne. “I’ll authorize it, but it needs to be enacted immediately. I don’t want to give them time to realize what we’re doing. A decisive strike to get to the heart of Plumeria.”

“And take the Heart-Blossom runestone for our own.”

At that, he sighed. “I still fail to see how gaining hold of a runestone we can’t control will help.”

Adora wished, more than anything, that instead of being there listening to a strange fight she had no context for, that she was back in the cafeteria eating. Her stomach gave a small growl, and she was suddenly happy that they were talking too loud to hear her.

Shadow Weaver continued. “I can learn to tap it the same way I’ve learned to tap the Black Garnet, doubling our magic potential.”

Hordak stood up and threw the papers on the ground at Adora’s feet. “I grow tired of this conversation. Just move.” He turned toward the darker side of his room.

Adora bent down to grab up the papers, quickly re-arranging them back into the folder before Shadow Weaver touched her shoulder and led her out. 

Once they were out of the room and the door shut, Shadow Weaver turned to Adora. “You have done well. You heard Lord Hordak- speed is of the essence. You are to deliver the orders to martial and enact this plan today.”

“Yes, Shadow Weaver.” Adora’s brain was churning at high speed with everything that needed to happen. She felt overwhelmed. She pushed that down and ran to start delivering orders. Breakfast and lunch would have to wait.

***

Thaymor had been an exhilarating experience. Seeing her plan enacted. Getting to experience the marshaling of an army under her command. It had been one of the best moments of her life, and it was such a letdown to see that most of it wasn’t even needed once they got there.

The revving up of the war machine for Plumeria wasn’t nearly as exciting. Maybe it was her own lack of self-care or the fact that she knew her plan had been rushed and continued to be rushed as it was enacted. Rushing things wasn’t a good strategy for winning a war.

She found herself in the front tank, intentionally alone, with everything she would need to capture a princess. If someone were going to get hurt, it would be her since she caused all this. 

Catra’s earlier words echoed in her ear about  _ self-sacrificing bullshit _ . She shook her head. This wasn’t self-sacrificing. This was protecting everyone else from her stupid mistakes. Still, thinking about Catra made her miss her more, and she hit her communicator for the tank that Catra and Scorpia would be driving. “Hey, Catra- Scorpia. How are you two doing?”

She heard a laugh that sounded like neither of them. Lonnie’s voice came through loud and clear, “I think you got the wrong tank, Captain.”

Adora froze for a moment as her brain processed what had happened. “Lonnie, you and the others were supposed to be in tank 37, on the west.”

“That’s not what our orders said. We’re just doing what we were told.” Her voice cut out a bit, and Adora heard Lonnie yelling at Kyle about something.

Adora tried to focus back on the path, but her brain was elsewhere, trying to figure out where in the world Scorpia and Catra were.

Catra, on the other hand, was moping at the very back of the action. “What the fuck are we supposed to be doing out here?”

Scorpia, with a cheery smile and a can-do attitude, held up a crate. “We have the vital job of keeping everyone hydrated.”

Catra blinked at Scorpia, then looked at the crate. “You have got to be joking.”

“Fluid consumption is no joke. Without a well-hydrated army, everything falls apart.” She pulled out a bottle from the crate with some difficulty with her pincers and wiggled it to make a point.

Catra slowly looked away from the bottle and to Scorpia. “Do you ever get tired of people not taking you seriously?”

Scorpia lowered the crate, her smile disappearing. “What?”

Catra gestured toward the crate. “Bottles? They gave you the job of delivering bottles? Aren’t you the strongest Force Captain we have?”

Scorpia blushed a little. “I guess- but this is important.”

“No, this is stupid. Anyone can do this job.” She grabbed the bottle out of Scorpia’s pincer and opened the top. “We’ve got to work on your ambition.” She chugged the water, drank it halfway, and threw the bottle to the side.

Scorpia watched with a growing warmth in her heart. She was just enamored that Catra cared about her ambition. She could have died happy right there and then.

At the front, Adora started to see abandoned tents. The population must have had scouts. The people were warned. She dropped her communicator on the console and readied herself for the fight of her life. She grabbed the stun baton, ready to engage with a real princess for the first time. All her training led her to this moment.

Through the small window of the tank, she saw a woman standing, draped in loose clothes, covered in flowers, her arms outstretched.

Adora stopped the tank and grabbed her helmet. Her heart pounded in her chest. She’d take the princess down if it killed her. She opened the hatch and crawled out, fueled by adrenaline alone.

The woman was still and calm.

Adora slid off the tank and nearly tumbled to the ground in front of the princess. She righted herself and got in a stance, ready for a fight. “Surrender or else, princess!” Adora tried hard to make her voice menacing.

The sounds of the war machines coming up behind her, ready to strike, only fueled her adrenaline high.

“I surrender,” The princess said in a meek voice as she put her hands up.

Adora blinked. “What?”

“I surrender as long as you let my people go.”

Adora paused, looking around. The people were already gone. What looked like the runestone was unguarded. She looked back at the princess, expecting this all to be a trick. “We’re here for you and the stone. Nothing else matters.”

The woman breathed a sigh of relief and put her hands out in front of her. “Then I’ll go peacefully.”

Adora’s mouth dropped as her brain registered what was happening. She moved forward, taking the cuffs from the back of her belt. “Really?”

The woman didn’t respond and merely held her hands out further.

Adora already heard the hooting and hollering of the soldiers popping out of the tanks behind her. She took off her helmet and let it fall to the side, and that’s when they started chanting her name.

Adora didn’t know what to do. They shouldn't be celebrating yet. This could all be a trap, but what more could she do besides go along with it and be prepared for anything. “Ok. I’m going to cuff you now.” She moved in slow, held up the cuffs, and expected something to happen before they were clamped down.

Nothing happened.

The woman lowered her arms and her head.

The army behind them went wild.

As Adora helped the woman into her tank, she heard the chatter on the radio. Reports that the mission was a success. Embellished accounts of what people had seen Adora do. She tried to stop being distracted by it all as she tried to secure the princess. “I don't get it. Why didn’t you fight us?” Adora asked as she attached the cuffs to a secure bar in the tank.

The woman sank to the floor. “We’re a peaceful people. We would have never attacked anyone, including the Horde.”

Adora stared at her in disbelief. “It’s a war-”

Adora was interrupted by the sound of her communicator going off. She heard Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio laughing and cheering her on.

She rushed over to turn off the communicator. Something about all this felt wrong. She sat down and started driving back. Her whole plan was useless. It was too much. It was all too much yet again. Why had the reports said anything about a completely passive princess? Who in their right minds would believe it? Her stomach growled.

The newly captured princess looked up.

Adora sank into her seat, focusing on the controls to turn the tank back and head as fast as possible to the Fright Zone. Her stomach growled again.

“Are you ok?” The woman behind her asked in a small voice.

Adora nearly bit back, but the words reminded her of Catra’s that morning. “I’m fine. Everything is fine.” She hesitated for a moment before adding, “And what do you care? I’m the invading force. I just ruined your kingdom and took you hostage.” She looked back and met eyes with the woman who should have hated her.

The woman held out her hands as far as they would go. In the middle of them was a red fruit.

Adora stared at it. “What is that?”

“It’s food.”

“How did you get it?”

“I control plants. I wouldn’t be a very good princess if I couldn’t make fruit.”

Adora blinked at it. Her stomach rumbled, and she whined as she forced herself to focus back on the path. The whole army was falling in line behind her, except the squads she had designated to stay and guard the newly acquired territory if they won. It still surprised her that they had won. She still didn’t quite believe it.

Adora stopped thinking as something rolled and hit her foot. She looked down to see the fruit there. She looked up at her prisoner. “How do I know you didn’t poison it?”

Her prisoner’s face looked shocked. “Oh wow. It’s an apple. They’re not poisonous.” She looked concerned. “Have you never seen an apple before?”

“Of course, I’ve seen an apple before!” She had never seen anything like it in her life. And Adora’s stomach betrayed her again and growled. She could somehow smell the fruit from where it was, and it only made her mouth water. She grabbed it and took a bite- telling herself it was in response to a challenge and not overwhelming hunger.

Her teeth broke through the skin, and sweet juices burst in her mouth. It was like the cookie, but different in texture, but so incredibly sweet. She ate it as fast as she could like she had never eaten anything in her life, and her stomach growled for it. She finished and took a breath, only to find something else hit her leg. She looked down and saw another apple. She looked back.

Her prisoner was giving her a soft smile. “My name is Perfuma.”

Adora was not going to dignify that with a response, but she grabbed the fruit and ate it. Afterward, she found another fruit rolled to her leg. This one was different. Orange. She didn’t care. She swallowed it too. Shadow Weaver would kill her. Taking food from a prisoner, a princess no less, but Adora was starving.

“You’re Adora, right? That’s the name everyone was chanting.” Perfuma held up a bundle of red things with little seeds that looked absolutely amazing.

Adora tried not to address that. They didn’t need to exchange pleasantries. 

Perfuma rolled the bundle of red things to Adora, and she ate it with reckless abandon.

“You’ve really never eaten any of this before, have you?” She produced another, this time green and shaped differently. 

It wobbled toward Adora’s foot, and Adora snatched it up before it could roll away. “I haven’t, and don’t patronize me.” She bit into it and had a little moment of heaven that reminded her of Catra while she was trying to drive the tank straight. She wasn’t doing a great job. “Hey um- Can you make more of the little red ones?”

The woman looked up with a sad look on her face.

“I have a friend who-” Adora hesitated. It was wrong to ask a favor of a prisoner. Before she could think about that too hard, she felt another bundle hit her leg, and she looked down to see more of them. She grabbed them up and stuffed them in her jacket for Catra for later. “Thank you.” She hesitated and added, “I can’t promise I can do anything for you, but I owe you one.” She looked back to see the woman fall against the side of the tank, dejected.

“It’s war, right? Don’t worry about it. You don’t owe me anything.”

They spent the rest of the trip in silence.

Adora hated everything about handing the woman over to the guards to be taken to a particular cell they reserved for princesses. Adora watched, feeling full for the first time in her life, and gripped with an uneasy sadness that made her hate herself.

Despite everyone cheering her no matter where she went, nothing about that day felt like a victory.

She retreated to her room, but not before grabbing a ration bar. She would never let herself be hungry in front of the enemy ever again. She opened the door to her room, turned on the light, and as the door shut behind her. She was tackled straight to the ground.

Catra laughed and slightly clawed at Adora’s jacket, all smiles, and bright eyes. “Guess who figured out your password.” her tail and her hips swayed as she talked. Catra tried desperately to get her fingers at the places that she knew Adora was ticklish.

Adora laughed back, defending her most vulnerable spots when she heard a squish and felt wetness on her chest.

Catra’s smile was gone, and she looked down at the red liquid on Adora’s chest. Her eyes went wide.

Adora realized in a moment what had happened and started laughing. “You’ve ruined the surprise.” She reached into her jacket and pulled most of a bundle of fruit out to hand to Catra.

Catra smelled them and moved back a little. “Where did you get that?”

Adora pushed herself to sit up and grabbed Catra’s hand with hers. She placed the red fruit in her palm. “Call it the spoils of war. They’re amazing.”

Catra blinked at her, then sniffed the fruit. “Is it poisonous?”

Adora shrugged but continued to smile. “I had two pounds of them earlier. If they were poisonous, I’d be dead already.”

Catra cautioned a lick, and her eyes dilated. She started eating, and Adora watched with the warmest feeling in her chest. It felt good. Giving Catra food was the one good thing in her whole day. The only real victory.

Catra’s mouth was a mess, and she licked at her own fur to get the juices off.

Adora laughed and reached forward with her thumb to smooth away some of the mess out of Catra’s fur.

Catra froze at the touch.

Adora did, too, once she realized her thumb had touched Catra’s lip. She quickly whipped some of the fruit off and pulled her hand away, unsure if what she had just done was ok or not.

Catra smiled and hit her in the shoulder. “You stupid sap. Cleaning my face. I can lick my own face, thanks.” She made her point by sticking out her tongue, then licking the juices off.

Adora watched with a strange feeling that she attributed to the lingering sense of being tickled. She opened her mouth to say sorry, or retort or something, but instead got interrupted by a frantic knock at her door.

Catra jumped, landing on the bed, sliding under the covers, and curling into a hidden ball in the back.

Adora was left alone on the floor, her fingers covered in strawberry juices, as she tried to get up. She expected Shadow Weaver. She didn’t expect the voice that came through the metal door.

“Force Captain Adora! You are needed in Hordak’s sanctum immediately!” 

Adora got up as she realized it was Cobalt. She opened the door to find him panicking. “Is everything ok?”

“No. Nothing is ok. You are to report to Hordak immediately. It’s an emergency.” He turned and ran.

Adora shut the door and looked back at Catra. “I guess I have to go.”

Catra pushed the blanket off her head. “I’m going with you.”

“You can’t be seen with me.”

“No, you idiot, I’m going to follow you secretly. If you’re getting in trouble, I’m not letting you handle it alone, you loser.”

Adora couldn’t help but smile at that. She wanted to fight it, but the nerves about what was going on hit her hard, and the idea of having Catra there comforted her. “Ok. Sure.”

***

The run to Hordak’s room was surreal. The further they got, the more they started to see flowers. It was jarring to see light blues and yellows in a place that rarely got above a dark red for any color.

The closer they got to Hordak’s room, the worst it got. Foliage- green and demanding, flourished out of every nook and cranny. 

They reached the door to Hordak’s sanctum, and Catra held back while Adora went in.

Catra listened and waited. 

“Adora, you’re here finally,” Shadow Weaver said almost gently.

Catra knew that once their eyes were on Adora, they would look at nothing else, and she slipped into the room as the door was closing.

Hordak’s sanctum had machines aplenty to hide behind, and today it had the extra foliage to conceal her. Catra got into a position where she could see, and her natural fur and markings would camouflage her. 

Hordak looked pissed.

Adora saluted, then looked panicked as someone else- must have been the princess, appeared out of nowhere holding a large bundle of flowers in her still cuffed hands. Catra’s mouth fell open as she saw the princess drape a garland of flowers around Hordak’s neck.

He moved to strike at her, and she flinched back toward Adora. Catra knew Adora too well. She could recognize that protective instinct in a second. In a moment, Adora had put herself between the princess and Hordak, guarding her the way she used to protect Catra. 

He sneered at her, and Catra readied herself for the fight of her life. She got excited. This was going to be glorious. She’d go for Shadow Weaver while Adora took out Hordak. Her heart rate went up. Her ears flattened back against her head, so she nearly didn’t hear what was said next. 

Hordak turned to the rest of the room, pointing. “All of this is your fault Force Captain!”

Adora’s face showed nothing but panic. “I put her in prison.”

Shadow Weaver took a deep breath and offered, “Yes, we are aware, but she has gotten out. Something about breaking the walls with pansies.”

Hordak growled. “She was obviously a strategic ploy by the rebels to undermine our base. You brought her in. I expect you to get rid of her immediately.”

“Yes, Lord Hordak,” Adora said.

Catra gave in to disappointment but got her adrenaline back when she saw Shadow Weaver leaning into Adora’s ear. Catra’s ears moved fast, at full attention, aimed directly at the old crone.

Shadow Weaver wasn’t stupid. From an early age, she had taught her wards a code that only they shared. They were simple commands, hidden in phrases that others wouldn’t recognize as code. “Take her to the Whispering Woods, and give her the  _ royal treatment _ ,” Shadow Weaver said with a smile in her voice.

Adora’s face flushed. Her eyes became pinpricks. Catra’s fur stood up on end as she watched the life drain out of Adora as she forced herself to move the woman out of the room. Catra could kill Shadow Weaver right then and there for daring to ask Adora to do that. Adora was a soldier through and through but not an executioner.

Catra waited until Adora was out, and Shadow Weaver had turned back to Hordak to say something of the incident to soothe him over, and Catra slipped out just as the door was shutting again.

She found Adora frozen in the hall, her hand holding the princess's cuffs.

Catra stood up, dusted herself off, and strode over to Adora. “Come on then. Let's get this over with.”

Adora didn’t move.

Catra grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the skiffs.

Catra did the work of getting them to the skiff bay, getting a key with Adora’s authority, and getting her to get the princess in.

Adora was gentle in helping the woman into the vehicle, like any amount of kindness now would make up for anything later. Or, Catra thought, maybe Adora was just kind, and she couldn’t turn it off, even with the enemy.

The princess looked scared but quiet, and she wasn’t struggling. She seemed resigned.

“Hey, you gotta show me how to drive this thing, ok?” Catra said to Adora, touching her shoulder.

Adora nodded in a daze and turned to take the rutter. She said nothing as she got it going and slowly led them toward the gate.

Catra moved to stand next to Adora, feigning interest in learning how it all worked. Adora muttered some useless facts about what buttons to push and looked up to the edge of the forest right outside the Fright Zone.

Catra leaned in, saying in a voice barely above a whisper. “Adora, you’re the kindest person I know.”

Adora froze at those words.

Catra grabbed the rutter of the skiff and looked Adora in the eye. “Don’t let Shadow Weaver have the satisfaction of making you cruel.”

Adora stared at the forest in the distance.

“That said, I’m here to help you do whatever you need to do.”

The woman behind them started making single flowers and letting them fly in the wind, leaving a trail behind them.

They drove faster toward the edge of the woods. Adora and Catra said nothing more. Everything that needed to be said had been said.

Adora slowed the skiff as they reached the edge of the woods.

For a moment, both Catra and Adora stared at it. It was immense and growing darker in the light of the fading sun. Full of dark purples and blues and faint greens. Faint lights appeared and disappeared in the depths of the trees. They had never actually been this close and had children’s stories told to them of all the dangers that awaited inside. 

Adora stopped the skiff and grabbed the stun baton attached under the control panel. “Ok, we’re getting out.” Her voice was flat.

Catra’s eyes fell on the baton, and she prepared herself.

Adora helped the princess get out of the skiff and stood on the ground with the baton in one hand and the cuffs in the other.

Catra perched on the edge of the skiff, her eyes on Adora’s hands. She would follow Adora anywhere- any direction she wanted to go. Dark path, light path- it didn’t matter to her. She was ready to do whatever Adora needed- to support whatever she chose.

Adora took a deep breath and dropped the baton, using her free hand to undo the cuffs. “Leave, quickly. Brightmoon is directly south of here.” She spoke fast, nervous.

Catra felt a tension release from her body that she didn’t realize she was holding. It was, in a moment, an assertion that Adora was still Adora- that Shadow Weaver hadn’t broken her yet.

The princess stood momentarily in shock as her hands were free. She started to smile.

“Go! Before anyone sees you!” Adora’s voice was raw.

The woman smiled big as she made a ring of flowers appear. She gently dropped them over Adora’s head and declared, “You take care of yourself, Adora.” The princess turned and ran, disappearing into the dark of the Whispering Woods.

Adora fell to her knees, watching the princess escape. “This is treason isn’t it?”

Catra jumped down from the skiff, grabbing the baton. “Maybe.” She turned it up to the max power setting, pointed it away from the skiff, from the forest, and away from Adora. She hit the button, and a beam shot out, taking out a chunk of a tree. She looked back at the power indicator, pleased that it would be obvious it had gone off. No one would have a reason to suspect anything once the equipment was checked back in. She turned around to Adora with a smile and an outstretched hand.

Adora took the offered hand, and Catra pulled her up.

They were close. Face to face. They were breathing each other's air.

Catra beamed. “That princess was the weakest anyway. We’ll never see her again.”

Adora breathed heavily, her eyes searching Catra’s face, landing on her lips. She forced herself to look Catra in the eye. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Adora grabbed the ring of flowers, ripped them off her neck, and threw them on the ground. “Let’s get back and go to sleep. I’m exhausted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Straight up based on an episode from the ’80s, which you can watch here if you want.  
> https://youtu.be/fP7d_AUy1D8


	5. One’s Fair Share

The alarm went off, and Adora extended a tired arm to turn it off only to hear the smallest sneeze. She blinked, unsure if that noise came from a dream or something else until it happened again.

Catra sneezed next to her in bed, and Adora’s heart was so warm. “That’s the cutest sneeze I’ve ever heard.”

“Shut up,” Catra said, rubbing her nose.

Adora started to get up, and Catra sneezed again. She couldn’t help but smile. 

Catra sat up and tried to clear her nose and couldn’t. “If you say one more thing about it being cute, I will literally gut you.”

Adora shook her head as she grabbed her boots. “It’s probably all those flowers.”

Catra groaned. “Maybe I can get Scorpia to- I don’t know- make up a mission outside.”

Adora stood up and smiled as she grabbed her coat. “I have an idea. If you and Scorpia aren’t already busy-”

“Is Scoripa ever busy?”

“Then get a boat. I’ll get it approved through Shadow Weaver first thing after breakfast.”

Catra looked at Adora with all the curiosity she could muster. “A boat?”

Adora couldn’t stop smiling. “Shadow Weaver said if the siege on Plumeria went well, I’d get a mission with you and Scorpia, and I think I have the perfect one.”

Catra watched Adora with her near limitless levels of energy and shrugged. “Great. Anything to get away from this-” She sneezed, and Adora’s eyes dilated. “-hell hole. I was trying to say hell hole.”

“So cute!”

“Shut up!”

***

The flowers and plants left in the Fright Zone were not as vibrant as they were the night before. It seemed without the princess there, they lost their luster and started to go to seed. Adora walked through the halls, looking for Shadow Weaver, and heard more than a few sneezes.

She stopped abruptly in a hall filled with wilting flowers, where Shadow Weaver stood holding a pair of sharp scissors and a collection of small bags.

Adora approached her carefully. “Taking a sample?”

Shadow Weaver sighed. “It’s rare to have reagents grow so close to home. I thought I’d gather some for tea, or potions, or potpourri.”

Adora didn’t know what potpourri was and didn’t care to pry too deeply into Shadow Weaver’s dark ways. She instead stood at attention. “I need approval for a mission.”

Shadow Weaver gave a sharp, quick snip to a plant and let the dried chamomile flowers fall into a bag. “Oh, you do?”

Adora hesitated a moment, wondering if what happened with the princess would cause the mission on Plumeria to be called a failure. “The mission you said I could have with Scorpia and Cat-”

Shadow Weaver sighed heavily. “Yes. I suppose I did say you could have that.” She turned back to the wall of flowers, finding a hibiscus among them. She quickly snapped it. 

Adora watched with a mix of feelings at seeing Shadow Weaver do something so domestic as gathering flowers. It seemed inherently wrong. “Salineas. For my mission with Scorpia- and Catra- I want to go to Salineas as a scouting group to see for myself what it’s like to compare to the reports.”

Shadow Weaver froze. She slowly turned to Adora, still holding the scissors open. “Now, why would you need to do that?”

Adora looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear before she uttered her next words. “With Thaymor and Plumeria, the reports were not exactly correct. I think someone might have-”

Shadow Weaver closed the scissors quickly and sharply and moved in to whisper. “Be careful what you say out loud, Adora.”

Adora froze at that threat.

Shadow Weaver relaxed her shoulders and tucked the scissors in her robes. She got close so that only Adora could hear her. “I will grant this request, but on two conditions. One, you will tell no one else of your suspicions or the reason for the trip. Top Secret. It is between you and me, and we will only talk about it in my chamber upon your return. Second, you will get close enough to make a report, but under no circumstances will you let Catra observe the kingdom herself.”

Adora stared at her. “Why?”

Shadow Weaver pulled away. “I do not need to explain myself to you, Force Captain. You will do as I say, or you will not go on this mission with them.”

“Yes, Commander,” Adora said while saluting. Her heart was racing.

“You are dismissed.”

Adora ran off half to rush to the docks and half to burn off whatever tension had been building inside her. Shadow Weaver was creepy on the best of days, but on days when there were unspoken accusations of falsified documents- she was even more terrifying.

The air at the docs smelled like dead fish and brackish water. Adora went to the attendant in charge of boat assignments and tried to get a boat checked out or figure out which one Scorpia had managed. 

“Oh, Scorpia. Right.” The attendant put down the trackpad. “Then you don’t need approval. She’s got her own ship.”

Adora’s brain scrambled for a moment. Those words didn’t make sense. “What?”

The attendant pointed down the dock. “The red that looks like a giant bug.”

Adora turned around. The ship was bigger than the others. “She gets a themed ship?” 

At that moment, Adora had no idea what she felt. Shock. Horror. Disgust. Envy. All of them at once. On top of it all, Scorpia didn’t need approval to travel.

She started walking toward the boat and feeling smaller and smaller as she went.

She got close enough and heard Catra calling her name. She looked up, and Catra waved excitedly from the ship’s deck.

“Hey, Adora! Check this shit out!” She motioned toward the whole thing and laughed like a madwoman.

Adora’s shoulders fell as they lowered the plank to let her get on.

Catra ran to meet her and nearly tackled her to the ground but managed to hold off. “She has a fucking boat, Adora! It’s hers!”

“Yeah, I saw that.”

Catra was too excited to hear the dejection in Adora’s voice. Catra instead grabbed Adora’s jacket and pulled her to the front of the boat. “I almost don’t care where we’re going. Wherever it is, it’s going to be the farthest from the Fright Zone I’ve ever been, and this is going to be great!”

***

“Gosh! Don’t you just love the fresh sea air! All briny and slightly fish smelling?” Scorpia leaned against the side of the boat, smiling wide at the broad open ocean.

Catra hurled the last remains of her breakfast gray ration bar off the side of the boat.

Adora watched them both with a sinking feeling that she had miscalculated. She wanted a trip with Catra away from things, to be able to relax and maybe get some work done on the side. What she did instead was find out that Catra got seasick quickly. She watched Catra hurl again and came up behind her to plant a hand on her back. “It will get better once we’re closer to land. The waves won’t be as big.”

Catra groaned and collapsed onto the deck. “I’m going to die, Adora. Tell Shadow Weaver I hated her.”

Adora’s shoulders fell. “You’re not going to die. It just takes a while to get used to the motion.”

Scorpia scooped Catra up into her arms. “You just need a distraction and maybe some good old-fashioned home remedies. I have both!”

A small shot of adrenaline went through Adora at the sight of Catra being carried like that.

Catra caught Adora’s reaction and wordlessly told her it was stupid and to chill. All of that expressed in one eye roll directed at her.

Adora’s jaw clenched. She was being called off like a guard dog. She hated it, but she backed off.

Scorpia rocked Catra a bit while she carried her to the middle of the deck. She cradled Catra in one arm while the other pulled a towel out of a box and laid it out before putting Catra down. “I brought board games and ginger candies just in case someone got sick.”

Adora walked up to Catra and stood watching Scorpia pull out a basket. She and Catra made eye contact briefly, a silent question between them that Catra decided to voice. “Scorpia, where do you keep getting contraband?”

“Oh, it’s a part of my family’s agreement with Hordak. I get a share.” Scorpia motioned for Adora to sit down.

Adora did, right next to Catra. Their legs were practically touching. Adora couldn’t verbalize why she needed the contact. She needed to be close. She needed to show Scorpia that- Catra wasn’t friendless. She needed Catra to accept the touch.

Catra didn’t seem like she noticed. 

Scorpia handed the basket to Catra with a shake.

Catra took it and reached in to find a box, which she pulled out and placed on the towel. On the front was a man with a mustache and a nice suit, and then drawings of the various kingdoms in Etheria.

“Oh, this game’s my favorite. You buy property and charge rent,” Scorpia said with an eager smile.

Next, Catra pulled out a bag of little gold balls.

“Those are ginger candy. Eat one- you’ll feel better. Don’t chew it, though. It’s hard.”

Catra opened the bag and smelled it before reaching in and grabbing one of the balls and putting it in her mouth. Her eyes dilated as her tongue was covered in sweetness. She handed one to Adora on instinct.

Adora took it and smelled it too before popping it in her mouth and making a noise of pure bliss.

Scorpia smiled. “See. They really take the edge off.”

“Like freakin’ magic,” Catra said around the candy as the haze of sea sickness lifted slightly.

“It’s not magic. Just an old trick my moms taught me.”

At that word, Adora and Catra both stared at Scorpia like she was some anomaly while they both sucked on the first bit of candy they had ever had. 

Scorpia couldn’t quite place their reaction. “Did I say something wrong?”

In theory, Adora and Catra knew what a mother was. Someone who was like a commanding officer but different- weaker. In practice, the idea was a foreign concept. During their late-night talks back in the barracks, the two of them had mused about what it could mean to have a family. Mostly, it was jabs about how having people who care for you sounded like a ploy to make you weak.

Adora didn’t think Scorpia was weak, and she had two moms instead of one. Her brain reeled at the realization of how much Scorpia had. The contraband, the boat, and two people who cared for her when she was sick- taught her non-combat medicine. It broke Adora’s brain, and her defense mechanisms crept up. “Some of us are trying to fight a war while you play games and eat candy,” Adora muttered, still technically sucking on the shrinking candy in her mouth.

Catra glared at her.

Adora only then realized she had said that part out loud and instantly regretted it.

Catra stood up and grabbed Adora’s ponytail. “Scorpia, if you’ll excuse us- I need a word with my friend here.” She pulled up until Adora scrambled to her feet, then dragged her out of earshot. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Let go,” Adora whispered aggressively as she swatted at Catra.

Catra let go but pushed Adora into the railing before getting close. “What was that popping off about?”

“Nothing. It just slipped.”

Catra was closer than she usually would get. Her face in Adora’s face. Her look was soft. “Let's not try to antagonize the rich lady. She might keep giving us shit.”

Adora’s stomach clenched. Her whole body went rigid.

Catra saw Adora’s jaw work. She smiled, happy for the subtle confirmation that Adora was getting competitive. “Slow your roll, and enjoy the benefits. Maybe we could get her to take us to other places outside of the Fright Zone, try new foods. Don’t you want to see the world, Adora?”

Adora was agitated. While yes, that sounded fun, the idea of having to be reliant on Scorpia for it made her uncomfortable.

Catra saw all of that in Adora’s face, and she patted Adora’s shoulder. “Relax, Force Captain. It’s not like you and Scorpia are competing for anything.”

Adora blinked at that, not sure if that was true or not.

From the top of the ship, an announcement boomed that they were near Salineas. They would be passing by but not getting close enough to endanger an attack.

Adora turned around to see the shoreline of the sea kingdom coming into view. She pulled out a collapsible telescope she grabbed before they left. 

Catra watched Adora scramble for the scope. “So, what exactly are you supposed to do here?”

“It’s top secret.” Adora extended it and looked through it. It took a moment to find the shore with the sight, but once she did, she found a kingdom that looked deserted. 

Catra poked her in the side. “You look like you’ve seen something interesting.”

Adora said nothing as she got to the sea gate. It was dim. It had holes. She blinked in astonishment before the scope was gone.

Catra had snatched it away. 

Adora looked up in horror. “Give that back.”

Catra started walking backward with the scope. “Oh- miss ‘I’m on a secret mission’ is going to try to keep me from looking? Oh, come on! I thought you knew me better than that.”

Adora rushed forward to grab the scope, and Catra dodged. A bigger lunge and a wider grip, and for a brief moment, Adora had Catra by the waist, and Catra giggled. Adora’s body reacted in a way that hurt- ached. She froze, and that gave Catra enough time to move her lithe body out and away and launched upward. Her vertical jump was unmatched.

Adora watched with growing horror as Catra started hopping up the side of the ship’s command tower.

With a grunt, Adora started climbing after her. “Catra! Give it back!”

Catra stopped jumping back and forth up the tower long enough to stick her tongue out at Adora and razz it.

Adora furrowed her eyebrows. She started climbing faster, the way Catra had taught her in all their years of playing.

“I’m going to throw you off the boat once I get you,” Adora yelled up.

Catra reached the top and twirled the scope in her hand while she kept her eyes on Adora’s ascent. “ _ If _ you get me!”

Adora felt a rush of endorphins as she was able to find good holds to pull herself up faster. She kept an eye on Catra, relieved that she hadn’t looked through the scope yet. “Curiosity killed the cat,” Adora said with a smile as she just about reached Catra’s foot.

Catra pulled her foot up and held up the scope to her eye in the same motion.

Adora froze.

“Hm- I don’t see anyone.”

Adora should have tackled her and wrestled the scope away before Catra could see anything else, but she was worried already they were tempting fate by being so high and so unprotected.

Catra smiled big. “Did you get a look at the gate? Looks like shit.” She tossed the scope back down to Adora.

Adora barely caught the scope with one free hand before having to clutch back onto the ship’s metal pipes to avoid falling.

“Looks like another place you can waltz right in and take over without much effort.” Catra stopped smiling. “Actually, wouldn’t controlling Salineas give us control of the ocean?” She blinked, putting it all together. “No more having to move tanks over land. Taking this would give us a big advantage in the war.”

Adora watched in wonder at how fast Catra’s mind worked. She had never considered that a sea-based war would be easier- that the sea kingdom would provide them such an advantage. She looked back at the shore in the distance, wondering why Catra hadn’t been promoted if what the Horde wanted was to win the war.

“Are you guys on top of the ship?” Scorpia called out from the deck. “That’s dangerous. Shadow Weaver would kill me if one of you fell.” She had moved to where she could just barely see them.

“We’re coming down. Adora’s done with her super-secret mission!” Catra called back mockingly. She turned back to Adora. “Do you need help getting down?”

Adora shook her head and then regretted it when Catra was out of sight and already addressing Scorpia while Adora just started to try to find her footholds in reverse. All the while, her brain was processing what had just happened. She had to find a way to explain all this to Shadow Weaver.

***

The trip back had been one long game of buying property and charging rent, and it had allowed Adora to process what she had seen and what it all meant. By the time they had gotten back, she was sure there had been some sabotage of the reports.

The moment they got back to shore, the smell of flowers seemed stronger. The plants that had looked wilted that morning were brown and husky by sunset. Golden yellow powder from their last burst of life covered everything, and Catra had started sneezing the moment they got close to shore.

Adora thought about that- Catra sneezing uncontrollably- as she wrote her report and found herself standing in the Black Garnet room with the report in her hand, detailing the many inaccuracies of the previous reports.

Shadow Weaver turned to her. “So, what did you find?”

Adora could think of no other way to start than to say it plainly. “The kingdom is practically abandoned. The sea gate is damaged.” She put the report down on the table in the middle of the room. “I compared it to the last ten years of scouting reports. There’s not a single mention of the sea gate as anything other than in perfect working condition. One of the most recent reports described it as magnificent.”

Shadow Weaver’s hair started to stand up from growing magic pulled from the Black Garnet. With a flick of her wrist, the room erupted in shadow spies with one red eye each.

Adora startled as they moved around the room, closing the door, checking and blocking the vents. 

“Please excuse the theatrics. When talking of such heavy matters, it’s best to make sure there are no prying ears or eyes.” Shadow Weaver took a seat and motioned for Adora to sit down too. “So, what is your conclusion?”

Adora sat in the chair opposite Shadow Weaver with the table between them. It felt weird not to be standing at attention, but she was not going to question it. “I think my suspicions have been confirmed. Someone is falsifying reports. Now we just need to find out who has been doing this.”

Shadow Weaver relaxed in her seat as one of the shadow spies grabbed a bottle and put it on the table. Another spy grabbed two long-stemmed glasses and put one in front of Adora, one in front of Shadow Weaver. 

Adora watched, confused.

Shadow Weaver grabbed the bottle and popped the cork with one clawed finger. “I’m proud of you, Adora. I want to reward you for your excellent work.” She poured the liquid from the bottle into the two glasses.

Adora may have been sitting, but she wasn’t at ease. If anything, everything Shadow Weaver said just made her more on edge. She didn’t like this at all. Everything Shadow Weaver was doing was breaking protocol, and that was never good.

Shadow Weaver pushed a glass of the liquid toward Adora on the table. “Drink with me.”

Adora hesitated.

Shadow Weaver said more forcefully, “Drink.”

Adora grabbed the glass and took a drink like a good soldier following orders. It was astringent and barely sweet. She had to force herself to swallow.

Despite saying they were drinking together, Shadow Weaver didn’t pick up her glass. “I made those false reports.”

Adora felt dizzy and put down the glass as she tried to make sense of those words.

“I have been using my shadow spies to keep track of the various kingdoms and territories. I have falsified documents to make those kingdoms and territories appear stronger and more aggressive than they are in an attempt to control the pace of the war. The Horde hasn’t officially sent out a real scouting unit since you were a baby.”

Adora’s vision started to blur. She held her head to steady herself. “I don’t understand.”

“And you don’t need to.” Shadow Weaver paused for a moment before adding, “Now, you’re going to remember this differently. You’re going to remember you confronted me about the reports, I seemed shocked and horrified, and you demanded a bribe to keep this information quiet or else discredit me as second in command.”

Adora shook her head. “I don’t-” She didn’t remember what she was going to say. She felt like she was underwater.

“And I was impressed at your ruthlessness, and I gave you the bribe, which you happily accepted. After you leave today, you will do everything in your power to keep the false reports hidden, especially when you’re planning any attacks I order.”

By now, the herbs and magic had taken their full effect, and Adora stared blankly at her.

Shadow Weaver took a deep breath and asked, “So, Adora, what is it you want for your bribe.”

“Catra.” She said it without hesitation.

Shadow Weaver rolled her eyes. “I know, and that’s the one thing I will never give you.”

Adora, separated from her regular filters, grit her teeth. Her jaw worked. Rage burned in her eyes.

Shadow Weaver sat forward as she thought she saw the faintest hint of glowing blue magic. “Interesting. I thought anger might do it.” She would have to make a note about that later. “I need you to pick something else. Something more reasonable.”

Adora’s fists clenched.

Shadow Weaver waved her hand. “Calm down.”

Adora reacted instantly. The rage was gone.

“Now, think of something else you want.”

Adora’s brain worked without her conscious thought. It waded through her memories and all the moments recently that she had felt inadequate. The image that boiled up was of Scorpia getting Catra cookies and candy. “Contraband,” Adora said flatly.

Shadow Weaver’s eyebrows raised under the mask. “Oh! I see Scorpia must have said something. Good. A share of the contraband distribution would be adequate. Enough that you’d be satisfied you got something of value without raising suspicions. It could be easily explained with simple favoritism.”

“And a boat.”

Shadow Weaver deflated a little. “Oh, now you’re just getting selfish. I just said a share of the contraband was perfect.”

“And a tank.”

“That’s enough.” Shadow Weaver waited to see if Adora would respond. The drink she took would be wearing off soon. “You’ll get a share of the contraband and nothing more.  _ We _ must keep this secret- especially from Catra.”

Adora flinched at the word.

Shadow Weaver had to act quickly. It was starting to wear off. “She’s too clever, too curious, and too spiteful to keep anything like this to herself. She has already nearly destroyed my plans more than once, without even knowing what she was doing.”

Adora swayed a little in the chair. 

Shadow Weaver changed tactics, knowing the effects were wearing off. “As it is, if this all fails, she will escape unharmed. I know how much she  _ means  _ to you. But now that you know- You can help me keep the truth from her and everyone else so that she can be kept safe from the consequences.”

Adora nodded and put her hand to her head as it felt like she was emerging from water. Adora’s eyes fell on the drink, and she pushed it forward. “I don’t want any more.”

Shadow Weaver leaned back, lounging on her chair. “It is an acquired taste. Someday you might appreciate it.”

Adora very much doubted that.

“So, we are in agreement, are we not?”

Adora had to work hard to remember what that agreement was. It floated up into her thoughts as clear as if it had happened exactly the way she had been instructed to remember it. She had been- what was the word? Ruthless. That was new for Adora. She thought maybe Catra would be proud if she knew, but she would never ever tell her. “Yeah.”

“You should probably use your share of the contraband to get more protein in your diet. Those ration bars won’t give you much to grow on if you’re to get stronger. You don’t think Scopria got as powerful as she is off ration bars do you?”

Adora’s adrenaline spiked at the name. 

Shadow Weaver smiled to herself at a job well done.

“Am I dismissed?”

“Of course.” Shadow Weaver waved, and the shadow spies dissipated.

Adora got up on shaky legs and left, still trying to piece together what had happened.

She made it to her room and opened the door expecting to get tackled. Instead, she shut the door and turned on the light to Catra in bed. 

Catra sneezed and talked with a voice more gravelly than usual. “How’d your little top secret thing go?”

Adora walked to the bed. “You look miserable.”

Catra buried her face in the pillow and mumbled, “You look miserable.”

Adora sat down on the bed and put a comforting hand on Catra’s shoulder. “I’ll see if I can find some medicine for you tomorrow.”

Catra looked up from the pillow, red eyes and all. “What are you going to do? Put a splint on my face and wrap me in gauze?”

Adora pinched Catra’s back and earned a weak defense. “I have a share of the contraband distribution. I can see if they have anything.”

At that, Catra sat up. Any sign of playfulness was gone. “What happened?”

“What do you mean what happened? My secret mission went well. I got a share of the distribution.”

“That’s not fucking likely.”

“What?”

Catra shook her head. “Shadow Weaver’s not an idiot. If she handed out contraband shares to anyone how did one thing well, she’d have no contraband to give out. That shit’s usually reserved for- I don’t know- arrangements.” Catra looked Adora over. “What did you agree to?”

“What?”

“She offered you a bribe to do something you’re not ok with. Based on where we were today, it’s probably got something to do with how unprepared they’d be for a Horde attack, and you looked shocked and-”

Adora put a hand on each of Catra’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. “I need you to stop.”

That took Catra by surprise. It was not Adora’s normal response. Catra’s brain raced to find the cause, and she caught a whiff of something on her breath. Catra leaned in, breathing in through a stuffy nose. “You smell like Shadow Weaver during her ‘me’ time.”

Adora backed off, self-conscious about her breath. “She offered me something. I only had a little.”

Catra knew, at that moment, something was wrong. Catra bared her teeth and shrank back. “Well, I guess I’m sleeping in the barracks tonight. Can’t sleep with that smell on you.” She hoped Adora recognized the offer to stop like she was asked, even if this whole thing smelled foul.

“I’ll brush my teeth.”

“Nope. Leaving you forever.” Catra settled back into the bed, pressing her face into Adora’s pillow.

The light shut off, and Adora’s hand found Catra’s back. “Thank you.” She said it quietly while starting to lay down, fighting for the barest edge of her pillow. It put their heads close.

Catra didn’t react because she was busy being angry at Shadow Weaver. Angry at the smell on Adora’s breath that she specifically was not brushing off. Angry at the whole situation. Angry that she was told to back off. She didn’t want to lose Adora, physically or mentally. She didn’t want Shadow Weaver tainting Adora with unscrupulous agreements.

Adora put an arm around Catra and pulled her body in. She needed the extra comfort that night, and no amount of shame was going to stop her. She suspected Catra needed it too but would never ask. She felt Catra relax in her hold, so she kept it.

Catra sneezed.

Adora tried to hold it back, but a giggle started to emerge from her chest.

Catra covered her head with the other pillow. “Just smother me already.” 


	6. Princess Scorpia

Scorpia made herself incredibly comfortable in Shadow Weaver’s new chairs. “I love these. When did you get them?”

Shadow Weaver got right to business. “I want a report on your  _ mission _ .”

Scorpia’s face went blank.

“With Catra. The mission with Catra.”

“Oh! Yeah. Sure. It’s going great. What was it again? Saving her from herself- totally doing that.”

“And  _ distracting  _ her.”

“Sure- sure.” Scorpia thought hard, and the board game came up. The trip on the boat. Working out. Sure she wanted to do more, but that was a pretty good little set of activities. “I’d say that’s going extremely well.”

The table between them had a dainty teapot and small delicate teacups. Scorpia smiled nervously as she started to try to pick one up with her pincer. It slipped, spilling some tea on the table. “Oh, sorry. They’re so small.”

Shadow Weaver didn’t seem to be paying any attention. She was lost in thought. “I’ve noticed she hasn’t been in the barracks.”

Scorpia was distracted. She managed to get the teacup in a good pinch and barely lifted it off the table without spilling. Context is so important, and Shadow Weaver would have never realized what she said could be misinterpreted. “Yeah, because she’s with me all the time now.” Scorpia meant during the day. Of course, Catra wouldn’t be hanging out in the barracks during the day because she was in Scorpia’s squad. She thought it was odd Shadow Weaver would even point it out, but knew better than to ask for clarification.

Shadow Weaver then watched as Scorpia tried desperately to bring the tea to her lips.

Just a hair too hard. The cup broke in two, dumping the tea on her uniform. She dropped the cup pieces to the table as she gave up. She preferred mugs.

“If I find out you’ve hurt her-”

“Jeez! What is with you? You invite me to tea, give me cups I can’t even pick up, and then accuse me of what? I don't even know, but I don’t like your tone.” She jabbed a pincer toward Shadow Weaver and then realized what she was doing and put her pincer down.

Shadow Weaver put down her full cup of tea. There was no point in pretending she’d drink it. “Catra is insolent. She’s full of anger. She has bad impulse control. I suspect if you spend any amount of time  _ close  _ to her, that you will find she has a way of finding your buttons and pushing them just to manipulate you.” Shadow Weaver couldn’t hide the growing frustration in her voice.

Scorpia tried to wipe the quickly cooling tea on her uniform. “Are you and I talking about the same Catra? Because if I got the wrong one, then I take it back, my mission is going horribly.”

“She’ll be docile as long as she gets her way, which- if she is that way with you, then perhaps your mission is going better than you even know. Keep it up and distract her from her more destructive  _ obsessions _ .”

Scorpia paused, contemplating something before figuring subtlety had never been her strong suit, so she should just ask. “Hey, I have a weird question about her and Adora.”

Shadow Weaver bristled at the invoking of Adora’s name, but her voice was calm. “Of course. Ask away.”

“Are they ok?”

“They are both in perfect working condition.”

“Yeah, no, I get that- I mean like- they both seem kind of emotionally stunted. Did something happen to them growing up?”

Shadow Weaver didn’t even mean to pull magic from the Black Garnet, but it responded to her anger, so the air cracked with red energy. She tried to calm herself. “I assure you, their emotional wellbeing is none of your concern.”

“I mean- the mission and all- it kind of is.”

Shadow Weaver worked hard to push her anger down, package it, and tuck it away. “I raised them to be survivors in a cruel and dark world. I wanted them to both be strong, and I believe I have succeeded.”

Scorpia was very glad she spilled the tea instead of drinking it. Drinking it would have been a slight obligation to finish, and she got the sense that she didn’t want to be in the room with this woman any longer than she needed to be. 

Scorpia’s question was answered. Catra and Adora didn’t have anything, in particular, happen to them. They had  _ someone  _ happen to them. In the context of the woman before her being their only guardian, their weird reactions to normal things made sense. Scorpia, being who she was, doubled down on her promise to be there for Catra, and as an addendum, added Adora to that. They were just two hurt, scared, and possibly abused horde kids who needed loyalty and hugs, and that’s just what Scorpia had in abundance. “I guess I’ll be on my way.” Scorpia started to get up.

“One more thing.”

Scorpia, reluctantly, sat back down.

Shadow Weaver waved a hand, and up from her desk floated a scroll. 

All Scopria had to do was open her pincer, and it came to her. She looked it over and was disappointed to see the seal was small and delicate. She’d rip it into pieces just trying to open it. The world wasn’t made for giant pincers, and not for the first time in her life she wished she had taken after her other mother. “What is it?”

“It arrived for you through a magical summons. It’s from the kingdom of Snows. It’s been ten years since the last celebration.”

Scorpia’s broad shoulders fell as all the pieces fell into place. “Oh. Princess prom. Great.” Her voice was flat. She couldn’t muster her normal positive attitude. This drained it out of her.

“If you choose to go, I am obligated to provide you with resources and time off, as per the agreement reached with your family.”

Scorpia didn’t wait to be dismissed. She stood up and held the scroll carefully but with no amount of joy. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.” 

She left the room and, with a heavy heart, heeded to the gym where she was supposed to meet Catra. That thought lightened her up a bit.

***

Adora did her twentieth pull-up when Catra jumped on top of the pull-up bar.

“Whatcha doing there?”

Adora relaxed a little to hang. “Can’t you let me finish?”

Catra’s ears went back. Her tail lashed from side to side. “I don’t know. I was in here waiting for Scorpia, and then I saw you doing- not what you’re supposed to be doing. Don’t you have a briefing or something to go to?”

Adora groaned. The briefings were useless. They were half false information anyway. She considered going that morning just for the optics of being seen at the meeting, but who cared. Her time would be better spent getting an extra hour in the gym. “I’m skipping it.”

Catra gave her a toothy smile. “Oh, I like this. What happened to turn you into such a rebel?”

Rebel. Adora hated that term. She had been taught to hate that term since she was little. She was slightly angry at Catra for using it. “Nothing happened. I just wanted to work out more today.” Her hands were starting to hurt.

Catra, playfully, stepped right on Adora’s fingers but not hard enough to actually hurt her- just hard enough to keep her from letting go. “Oh, come on. We both know you’re not the type to skip meetings without a reason.”

“Just working out.”

“Just working out or working out a plan to take over Salineas next? No one cares if you’re at some stupid meeting when you’re about to win the war.” Catra smiled like she knew she was clever.

Adora hitched her legs to pull up and then push Catra off the bar with her free hand.

Catra jumped with a squeal, and a laugh, ending up on the top of the next machine.

Adora let go of the bar and landed on her feet. She did a quick glance to see if anyone was near enough to hear. It was early enough that they were mostly alone. “We’re not going after Salineas, and I need you to stop talking about it.”

Catra’s smile was gone. She sat pitched on the top of the bench press machine. “What do you mean you’re not going after it? It’s an easy target.”

Adora focused on Catra and made sure it was a firm and unflinching glare. “Salineas is too powerful to take right now.”

Catra stared at her, wide-eyed and shocked. “But I saw it. It was-”

Adora cut her off. “Salineas is too powerful to take right now. Trust me.”

Catra’s eyes narrowed on Adora. Was she joking? Didn’t look like it. No, from the looks of it, she was serious. Catra’s claws reflexively extended and retracted against the metal of the bench while she worked through it. It had to have something to do with Shadow Weaver’s agreement with Adora, but that would make no sense if Shadow Weaver wanted to win the war. Catra’s claws came out and stayed out when it finally sunk into place. Shadow Weaver didn’t want to win the war. Catra’s brain reeled.

Adora watched Catra’s ears move and twitch, and her face go through several thoughts before landing on surprise and horror. “Nope! You thought a thing! Stop it. Don’t think that. Whatever it is!”

Catra’s heart sank. That reaction only confirmed it. What the hell? Who ends up second-in-command of a war machine when they don’t want to win the war? Why? What was her game then? She looked at Adora, and a thought flashed in her head. Whatever the game was, Adora was a part of it.

Adora started climbing the equipment and did the unthinkable of grabbing Catra’s tail while she was deep in thought.

Catra startled out of her thoughts at the touch and glared down at Adora. Her claws worked the metal again to avoid swiping.

Adora tugged it, knowing full well she was breaking many of their unspoken rules. “Whatever you think is going on is not what it is. Stop thinking that and get down!”

“You’re not my Force Captain. I can do whatever I want.” She reached for her own tail and paused as she stared Adora down. 

Adora wasn’t trying to hurt Catra. She just needed to show she meant business, so she let go.

Once Adora let go even the slightest bit, Catra yanked her tail out of Adora’s hand. She petted it to soothe the feeling of the rough treatment. “Also, fuck you for bringing my tail into this.”

Adora took one more step on the equipment and managed a shaky sit on the top opposite Catra. “There are good reasons we’re not going after Salineas. I’m just not allowed to talk about them.”

“Right.”

“Why do you two always go for the high ground?” Scorpia yelled as she came into the room. She walked up to the bench press bar, the scroll still in her pincer, and shook her head. “It’s like you two are scared of the floor. Oh, wait! Are you playing the-floor-is-lava?”

Adora and Catra stared at Scorpia like she was a crazy person. “The floor is what now?” Catra managed.

“Old kids game. Anyway, get down before one of you falls, and I get skinned alive for letting it happen.”

Adora immediately climbed down. Catra didn’t. Her attention was on the scroll. “What is that?”

Scorpia let out a slow and long defeated breath. “An invitation to Princess Prom.”

That made Catra jump down. She grabbed for the scroll, and Scorpia let her have it without any resistance. Catra broke the seal without asking and started unraveling it. The heavy part fell out of her hand, landed on the floor, and rolled- and rolled- and kept rolling until it hit the far wall. “Oh, wow. Who did they intercept this from?”

Scorpia had never looked so uncomfortable. “Intercept? No, It’s mine.” She was met with blank stares from both Adora and Catra. “There you two go again, being all weird. Did I say something wrong?”

Catra turned the edge of the scroll around and held it to Scorpia. “Hello? Did you get hit in the head during your meeting, or did Shadow Weaver do something to your memory? This is for Princesses.”

Scorpia blinked at them, then shifted her feet, and her pincer scratched the back of her neck. She managed a smile. “Jeez, I thought everyone knew. I’m a princess.”

Adora jumped back with wide eyes and a stance ready to fight while Catra’s mouth dropped.

Scorpia laughed a little, then added, “Really, I thought you two would know the story- growing up in the Horde and all. My family lived here before Hordak showed up. My grandfather made an agreement- handed over the Black Garnet, this little chunk of land called the Fright Zone, and our family’s princess. I’m obligated to be a Force Captain until I have kids or die- I guess.”

Adora and Catra both stared at her like they had seen a ghost. 

Catra quickly recovered and turned her attention to the invitation. “I have to admit, you know how to keep a woman on her toes.”

Adora’s brain finally relaxed as she realized that’s why Scorpia had a boat and all that freedom. She was royalty. Adora looked back at Scorpia with a growing sense of helplessness. There was no way she could compete with royalty. Her whole life, she had hated princesses, but now she desperately wanted to be one, if only for the extra freedom- for what she could do for Catra. But- you didn’t just become a princess. The rift between them was too great. She was tempted to just give up and hand Catra over right then and there, but the thought of giving up made her angry, and she was not a quitter. With a set of her jaw and a nod to herself, she jumped back onto the pull-up bar and started working out her problems on the steel. She would get stronger. That’s how she was going to deal with this.

Catra rolled her eyes at her friend’s obvious envy problem. She was determined to let Adora’s little crisis work itself out. She focused back on the invitation. “So, are you going to go?”

Scorpia sat down on the bench press machine, and it creaked under her weight. “I don’t know. It’s not like I fit in. The fact that my family was the one that immediately joined up with Hordak- the other princesses don’t like that. They didn't exactly like us before the Horde either.”

Catra tried to read the first paragraphs of the invitation with Adora counting off her envy as pull ups. “You get a plus one.” She blinked and looked up as an idea formed. “Scorpia-”

“Yeah?”

“You know when I said we needed to work on your ambition?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re going to this, and I’m going as your plus one, and we’re going to raise hell. Shake up the rebellion a bit, and show the higher-ups here that you’re not someone to be messed with.”

Adora dropped from the bar, not sure if she liked the idea, but the look on Catra’s face made her keep quiet. She looked up at Scorpia and found her beaming with pride. Fuck. “I mean, you’re not going to get any of that approved.”

Catra gave Adora a smug smile and held out the invitation. “Didn’t you hear? She’s a princess. She’s got her own squad, her own vehicles. She’s going to this, and she doesn’t need anyone’s approval.”

Adora took the invitation offered, and her heart sank. “Look at all these rules. You’d need a whole team of people to help you sort through them.”

Catra threw an arm around Adora’s shoulder and ran a claw down her arm. “Or, one really detail-oriented Force Captain who seems to not be engaged with anything at the moment.”

Adora groaned as she looked back at the instructions. She knew better than to try to change Catra’s mind at this point. Any attempt would only make her double down harder. The best thing she could do was help out to avoid an unexpected international incident. “Ok fine. I’ll read through it and give you a battle plan.” She hesitated then offered, “I’ll investigate the various people involved and create flashcards for you.”

Catra hit Adora in the back. “That’s my girl. With the three of us, we’ll get so much chaos done that our names will go down in the history books.” She made intense eye contact with Scorpia. “You with me?”

Scorpia felt faint. “To the ends of the earth.”

Adora glared at the text and gripped the sides to avoid saying or doing anything to reveal how much their chumminess bothered her.

Scorpia smiled big and grabbed them both in a hug. “Gosh! I’m so happy to have you two as friends.”

Adora, for a moment, was stunned not just by the hug but by the realization that Scorpia called her a friend. Then she panicked. “People can see us!”

Scorpia hugged a little tighter. “So?”

“Displays of affection are strongly discouraged!” Adora had never in her life had a hug this strong. Her brain panicked at the contact, the closeness, the restriction.

Scorpia sighed and squeezed them both a little more. She closed her eyes, sad for the life these two had to live. “It’s ok. No one’s going to hurt you, not as long as I’m around.” 

Adora froze. She wasn’t sure why Scorpia would say it that way. When the large woman let them go, Adora couldn’t put into words the confusion she felt. Half of her never wanted to be touched like that ever again- and half of her wanted nothing more than to make it happen. She turned back to the invitation to avoid the dissonance she felt.

***

Throughout the day, Adora read through the whole scroll and found no fewer than six hidden tabs. She also cross-referenced the files the Horde had on the princesses and the various kingdoms, and yeah, maybe the reports were falsified, but  _ some  _ of the information had to be correct, and it was all she had. 

That evening after dinner, she had Catra sit on the bed while she dragged out a cork board she got from the contraband distribution and a pointing stick. “Ok, here me out. Plan of attack. All weapons have to be checked at the door.” She tapped the board. “This might be our only chance to pick up any specialty weapons. The snow kingdom’s guards are easy to impersonate.”

“That’s going to be you, right?”

Adora stopped. “Me?”

“Yeah. you’re a part of this.”

Adora took a long moment to mull that over. “I guess I could. I don't know if it’s worth trying to get approval.”

“Don’t you want to?”

Adora put down her pointer and folded her arms. “I’d love to see places beyond the Fright Zone.”

“And don’t you want to compare the kingdom of snows to the reports?”

Adora felt sick to her stomach.

Catra took the silence as admission. “Then you’re coming with us. You can drive Scorpia and me as her chauffeur or something.”

Adora wanted to get back to the presentation.

“Come on! Don’t you want to see me all dressed up?”

That got Adora’s attention, and she looked back with keen interest.

Catra got up off the bed with a smile. “What do you think? Something form-fitting for sure. Maybe purple?”

Adora allowed herself to look at Catra’s body while she was showing off. “I think I saw clothes at the contraband pickup. I’m sure Scorpia could get you something that would look great.” Just suggesting it hurt. She should have gotten something while she was there earlier and not wasted her share on a corkboard.

“This is going to be awesome.” Catra sat back down, her ears tall and wide. Her tail was doing a roll that showed she was hyped up.

Adora grabbed her pointer and tried to focus back on the scroll. “There’s a lot of stuff you’re going to have to memorize, and there’s not a lot of time.”

“We’ll keep radio contact. You can keep track of everything for me.”

Adora glared back at her. “I haven’t agreed to go yet.”

“You should.”

“Even if I did, there’s other stuff- stuff I can’t just feed you through a radio. There are traditional dances.”

Catra groaned and fell back on the bed.

“You and Scorpia have to practice.”

Catra closed her eyes. “I don’t want to dance with Scorpia.”

“Why not?”

“Because she's-” Catra hesitated, then opened her eyes. “She’ll take it the wrong way.”

Adora’s heart never soared so high. She moved forward as the first bit of hope in all her life appeared. “I guess it would be better if you two could split up and cover more ground. Assume you’d both have to dance with someone else to do better intel gathering.”

At that, Catra smiled as she looked up from the bed. “I knew I could trust you with this battle plan.”

Adora, happy for the first time in weeks, turned back to the corkboard full of string and written out notes. “You’ll still have to practice dancing.”

“Sure. I assume you’ve already memorized the moves.”

Adora looked at Catra like she had been waiting her whole life to answer that question. “Backwards and forwards. I can talk you through it.”

Catra got on her feet, nearly bouncing with eagerness. “I promise I’ll remember if you show me.”

Adora felt a lightness in her heart, a quickness to her thoughts. She stood up and got in the starting position with her hand out. “Mirror me.”

Adora had known early that Catra was a kinesthetic learner. As long as it was physical, she rarely had to be shown something more than once or twice. Combat moves were boring for her because they came so quickly, and that led to her getting in trouble a lot during training because she was bored, but this- this was the exact type of thing Catra was good at.

At that moment, Catra casually mirrored Adora’s stance and position like it was second nature. Adora watched with wonder at how easily it all came to her. Adora had to think through the lists- back straight, hand out, toe pointed toward your partner- and there Catra did the whole thing without reading a single word of it. Adora got a devilish smile. “The basic dance is all mirrored. Let’s see how fast you can keep up.” Challenges were a great motivation.

She moved to the next position, and Catra smiled as she got it perfect. Adora sped through the next three moves until the spin away, and Catra stayed with her. Adora turned back, so impressed and proud of her friend. “Now do it on your own. Show me you remember.”

“Easy!” Catra went back to the starting position, and point by point, laid it out perfectly. Perfect posture. She was a natural.

“The spin away is to a few new partners, then come back to the original. There are variations.”

Catra beamed. “Lay it on me.”

They went through it all again, this time stopping at what was optionally a lift. “If your partner is someone you can pick up, and you’re on the right side, then this is a lift.”

“What do you mean by lift?” Catra stood ready, but her face displayed confusion.

“Here. If I’m in position-” Adora moved to be on the lifting side. “Then you kind of hitch into my arms and -” Adora huffed, and lifted Catra up, and did a gentle spin before setting her down.

Catra beamed. “Do it again.”

Adora’s heart skipped. “Ok.” They rushed back into the beginning position and started. Adora should have expected Catra to remember it perfectly, but it still surprised her how easy it was- how their moves seemed to be perfectly timed- and how damn good it felt to lift catra up.

Catra landed again and couldn’t stop smiling. “It’s not often I get carried.”

“Scorpia sure does it a lot.”

“Leave Scorpia out of this.” Catra pushed Adora away a little rougher than she intended. “What’s next?”

Adora turned back to the scroll. “The optional dip.” She paused for a moment. “Let me show you real quick what it's supposed to be.” She motioned for Catra to come to her. Adora adjusted her to be in the right position, then quickly tipped her.

Catra let out a gasp of surprise before she realized where she was- gripping Adora’s shoulders half way on her back. “Oh, I like this. My turn.”

Adora pulled her back up and swung her out into the final position before they readjusted. Adora got into the receiving end of the dip, pulling Catra’s back to her chest. Her heart was beating.

Catra rolled her shoulder into it and swung Adora into a low dip, firmly holding her back. Adora’s arms were supposed to be holding on to her partner’s neck, so she was, and their legs were supposed to be that way, so they were, and Adora’s heart never beat so hard for so little work. “You’re really getting the hang of this,” she managed to say through the fact that she was out of breath and only partially from the physical exertion.

Catra swung her back up and out, holding her at arm's length, not even winded, but breathing deeply regardless. “I could do this all day.”

They didn’t let go. For a moment, they were both struck by the other one- reeling from the intimate positions the dance had brought them to and dealing with the complicated feelings that caused.

Then the lights shut off, and they let go of each other. 

In the dark, Adora tried to get a hold of herself and still her beating heart.

Catra watched, unsure if Adora’s reaction was panic in a good way or panic in a bad way. Her heart hurt at the thought that it had been the bad panic.

They both took a breather, and Adora managed a laugh. “I guess we lost track of time.”

“It was fun, though.”

“Yeah.” In the dark, standing there helpless in more than one way, Adora tried not to think of how much she wanted to be on that dance floor with Catra at this prom thing. The idea that people would see them and be jealous of how good they were- how well they worked together. The fact that it wasn’t going to happen only made her sad.

Catra watched that gorgeous face turn sad in the dark, and there were so many things she wanted at the moment. Instead of getting any of them, she got back onto the bed and offered, “We’ll practice again in the morning and at lunch. All the variations.”

Adora smiled to herself, slightly hopeful. “Yeah. That sounds great.” She put her hands out to find the bed.

Catra moved forward and took her hands to lead her back. “Don’t want you stubbing a toe before we’ve practiced.”

And there it was again, that sad face, then a hopeful smile. “Yeah. Thanks.” Adora stopped at the edge of the bed, kicked off her boots, took off her jacket, and felt around for where to get in.

Catra moved to provide Adora space and stared at her while she climbed in. Catra waited to see if Adora would pull her in like last night, and when it didn't happen, she sighed and laid on her back. “It’s stupid to get excited over a dance, but literally- it’s the most fun I’ve had since you and I started racing to the forge.”

Adora laid on her back too and stared at the ceiling. She understood. It was like learning a complicated chokehold or a wristlock, only way less painful on the receiving end. “We haven’t raced in years. I bet I could still beat you.” Nothing like cutting the tension with playful banter.

“In a fair race, maybe, but when have I ever played fair?” Catra breathed deeply and decided if she was ever going to say it, she needed to say it now. “So, Shadow Weaver is bribing you not to reveal that she’s been holding the Horde back through false reports.”

Adora’s body stiffened. Her eyes shot open in the dark. Her brain raced about what to say. It was wrong, the reports were falsified, but Adora didn’t know why or who had done it, did she? She couldn't remember. Her head hurt every time she thought about it.

That lack of a response was all Catra needed for confirmation. “Use it against her. Tell her you have to go to this prom thing as backup to maintain the secret. Tell her I’ll probably learn something I shouldn’t, and you’ve got to be there to make up some excuse for what I’ve found out.”

Adora, for a moment, did nothing and said nothing. That long stretch of silence continued. Instead of addressing it, she rolled over with her back toward Catra like she hadn’t heard anything. Still, the idea wasn’t bad. If Shadow Weaver couldn’t stop Scorpia from going and taking Catra, then Shadow Weaver would want someone there to keep tabs on them. It might as well be her. 

Adora yelped when she felt a hand snake around her waist.

“What? You can hug me one night but I can’t hug you back the next? Tough. I want cuddles, so deal with it.” She pressed herself to Adora’s back and put her nose in Adora’s hair.

After a moment, Adora relaxed. 

Apparently, this was how things were going to go from then on. Hugs in the dark when no one was looking. If Scorpia could do it out in the open, then they could at least do it when they were alone.

It was going to make it hard to sleep. Adora’s heart was beating so hard, she was sure Catra could hear it. She was overwhelmed with the idea that Catra would know how helpless this made her- how weak. What an imbalance. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down by telling herself it didn’t  _ mean  _ anything. It was just a hug- something they both wanted and needed. That thought calmed her down and brought tears to her eyes as she closed them in the dark. She didn’t know why that thought hurt- but it hurt more than anything.

Catra was surprised that Adora didn’t stop her. She felt the same excitement she had at the dip- just another moment of closeness to someone she desperately wished she could hold onto and never let go.

Getting to sleep was hard for both of them that night.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update every month at least. Expect a more serialized fic, with each chapter being kind of self-contained, but with an overall plot.


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